March Madness

2021 NIT Basketball Tournament to Be Held in Dallas-Fort Worth This Month

College basketball's oldest postseason tournament is back and will host all 16 teams right here in the DFW Metroplex

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Conference USA and the University of North Texas will host the 83rd National Invitational Tournament in the Dallas-Fort Worth area beginning mid-March.

The 16-game tournament was canceled last year amid the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, with the top priority to provide a safe and healthy environment in mind, the tournament will be hosted entirely in the DFW Metroplex.

Teams will play at the Comerica Center in Frisco as well as the UNT Coliseum in Denton. Other specific venues for each round are currently being finalized.

The first rounds are scheduled for March 17-20. The quarterfinals are expected to take place the following week of March 25. The semifinals and finals will take place from March 27-28.

In addition, for the first time since 2003, a third-place game will take place as well on Sunday, March 28.

The 2021 NIT Schedule will be released on ESPNU at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, March 14.

Due to reduced field size, all of the teams will be selected as participants at large, and there will be no automatic qualifiers.

All games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. Individuals wanting to keep track of conference tournaments can click here.

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