ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will carry all of the games in the 77th National Invitation Tournament (NIT) this season. It all begins on Tuesday with the four platforms showing nine first round games and another 7 on Wednesday.
Intriguing matchups include former Big East rivals West Virginia and Georgetown on Tuesday, LSU at San Francisco and Cal-Irvine at SMU on Wednesday.
Bill Walton will be assigned to LSU-San Francisco, but will be working with Roxy Bernstein instead of regular Pac-12 partner Dave Pasch. Dave will be on the East Coast with Tim Welsh on Robert Morris at St. John’s.
We have the full first round schedule below.
Men’s College Basketball: Exclusive Coverage of Every NIT Game across ESPN Networks
ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the entire 77th National Invitation Tournament (NIT) will begin with all 16 first-round games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 over Tuesday, March 18, and Wednesday, March 19. The networks will follow the first round with all eight second-round matchups (March 20-24), the four quarterfinals (March 25-26), both semifinals (April 1) and Championship (April 3).
Every NIT game on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will also be available via WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The 32-team field for the oldest tournament in college basketball was announced Sunday, March 16, during the ESPNU NIT Selection Show and includes teams representing 23 conferences. The field includes 23 programs with at least 20 wins, and 13 teams that qualified automatically for winning their regular-season conference title without receiving an NCAA Championship bid. The top seeds are Florida State, Minnesota, St. John’s and SMU.
St. John’s, making its NIT record 30th appearance, is one of six teams in the 2014 event that appeared in the 2013 NIT: Florida State, Indiana State, Louisiana Tech, Robert Morris and Southern Miss. Florida Gulf Coast, which reached the Sweet Sixteen in last season’s NCAA Championship, will be one of three teams to play in the NIT for the first time: High Point and Utah Valley.
2014 NIT First Round Schedule:
Date Time (ET) Game Network Tue, March 18 7 p.m. NIT First Round: West Virginia at Georgetown
Mike Patrick & Dan DakichESPN 7 p.m. NIT First Round: Florida Gulf Coast at Florida State
Mark Jones & Darrin HornESPN2 7 p.m. NIT First Round: Robert Morris at St. John’s
Dave Pasch & Tim WelshESPNU 8:15 p.m. NIT First Round: High Point at Minnesota
Clay Matvick & Mark WiseESPN3 8:15 p.m. NIT First Round: Belmont at Green Bay
Jim Barbar & Sean HarringtonESPN3 9 p.m. NIT First Round: Indiana State at Arkansas
Brad Nessler & Jimmy DykesESPN 9 p.m. NIT First Round: Davidson at Missouri
Bob Wischusen & Malcolm HuckabyESPN2 9 p.m. NIT First Round: Georgia State at Clemson
Tom Hart & Bob ValvanoESPNU 11 p.m. NIT First Round: Utah at St. Mary’s
Dave Flemming & Sean FarnhamESPN2 Wed, March 19 7 p.m. NIT First Round: Illinois at Boston University
Sean McDonough & Tim WelshESPN2 7:30 p.m. NIT First Round: Iona at Louisiana Tech
Brett Dolan & Daymeon FishbackESPN3 8 p.m. NIT First Round: Vermont at Georgia
Joe Davis & Dino GaudioESPNU 8:30 p.m. NIT First Round: Toledo at Southern Miss
Roy Philpott & Joe DeanESPN3 9 p.m. NIT First Round: UC Irvine at SMU
John Saunders & Fran FraschillaESPN2 10 p.m. NIT First Round: LSU at San Francisco
Roxy Bernstein & Bill WaltonESPNU 10:30 p.m. NIT First Round: Utah Valley at California
Trey Bender & Jon CrispinESPN3
That will do it.
