- All 31 games air across ESPN networks March 17-April 5
- First round games begin March 17 across ESPN networks
- Semifinals and Championship live from Indianapolis, April 2 & 5
ESPN will once again serve as the exclusive home of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), delivering all 31 games across its networks from March 17 through April 5.
The tournament begins with first round action (March 17–18), followed by the second round (March 21–22) and quarterfinals (March 24–25), all originating from campus sites. The semifinals (April 2) will be played at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, with the championship tipping off April 5 from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Tournament Coverage Begins March 17
The 32-team field was unveiled Sunday evening, with the full bracket available here.
ESPN’s coverage begins Tuesday, March 17, with a tournament preview show at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Host Kevin Connors will be joined by analysts Sean Farnham and Seth Greenberg to break down the bracket and storylines to watch.
First round play tips off later that evening with eight games across ESPN networks, followed by the remaining eight matchups on Wednesday, March 18. All games throughout the tournament will also be available via the ESPN App.
Championship Stage Set for Indianapolis
The NIT semifinals will take place Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on ESPN from Hinkle Fieldhouse, with the championship game held Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The NIT Championship weekend joins the NCAA Division I, DII and DIII in crowning their national champions in Indianapolis that weekend.
Matt Schumacker and Fran Fraschilla will serve as the commentator pairing for NIT semifinal and championship action in Indianapolis.
DII/DIII Coverage
In addition, ESPN+ is slated to stream action from the NCAA Division II/III Men’s Basketball Tournaments. The DII quarterfinals and semifinals stream March 25 & 27, with all games from the Division III quarterfinals through championship game streaming on ESPN+ (Mar 19-April 5).
2026 NIT Schedule & Commentator Assignments
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Where to watch |
| Tue, Mar 17 | 6 p.m. | NIT First Round Liberty at George Mason Kevin Fitzgerald, Randolph Childress |
ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | NIT First Round Wyoming at Wichita State James Westling, Mark Adams |
ESPNU | |
| 7 p.m. | NIT First Round UNC Wilmington at Yale Robert Lee, Tim Welsh |
ESPN+ | |
| 8 p.m. | NIT First Round Davidson at Oklahoma State John Shriffen, Jon Sundvold |
ESPN2 | |
| 9 p.m. | NIT First Round Stephen F. Austin at Tulsa Pete Sousa, Mark Wise |
ESPNU | |
| 10 p.m. | NIT First Round South Alabama at Auburn Dave Neal, Richard Hendrix |
ESPN2 | |
| 10 p.m. | NIT First Round St. Thomas (MN) at Seattle U |
ESPN+ | |
| 11 p.m. | NIT First Round UNLV at UC Irvine Roxy Bernstein, Miles Simon |
ESPNU | |
| Wed, Mar 18 | 7 p.m. | NIT First Round Navy at Wake Forest Anish Shroff, Dennis Scott |
ESPNU |
| 8 p.m. | NIT First Round George Washington at Utah Valley Richard Cross, Richie Schueler |
ESPN+ | |
| 8 p.m. | NIT First Round Kent State at Illinois State Eric Rothman, Eric Devendorf |
ESPN+ | |
| 9 p.m. | NIT First Round Dayton at Bradley Mike Corey, Kevin Lehman |
ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | NIT First Round Sam Houston at New Mexico Mike Morgan, Scott Williams |
ESPN+ | |
| 10 p.m. | NIT First Round Murray State at Nevada Derek Jones, John Williams |
ESPN+ | |
| 11 p.m. | NIT First Round UIC at California Roxy Bernstein, Corey Williams |
ESPN2 | |
| 11 p.m. | NIT First Round Saint Joseph’s at Colorado State Chris Sylvester, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPNU | |
| Sun, Mar 22 | 4:30 p.m. | NIT Second Round | ESPN2 |
| 6:30 p.m. | NIT Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| 7 p.m. | NIT Second Round | ESPNU | |
| 8:30 p.m. | NIT Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| 9 p.m. | NIT Second Round | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Mar 21 OR Sun, Mar 22 | TBD | NIT Second Round | ESPN+ |
| TBD | NIT Second Round | ESPN+ | |
| TBD | NIT Second Round | ESPN+ | |
| Tue, Mar 24 | 7 p.m. | NIT Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | NIT Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Wed, Mar 25 | 7 p.m. | NIT Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | NIT Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Thu, Apr 2 | 7 p.m. | NIT Semifinal #1 Matt Schumacker, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | NIT Semifinal #2 Matt Schumacker, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN | |
| Sun, Apr 5 | 8 p.m. | NIT Championship Matt Schumacker, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN2 |
Updated matchups will be found here throughout the NIT