March Madness signals the start of the postseason NCAA tournaments in college basketball.
Just 68 Division I teams will be selected to participate in March Madness. Teams with hopes of playing in the postseason that do not qualify for the tournament still may have the chance to accept an invitation to the NIT Tournament.
Here, we break down the differences and similarities between both NCAA tournaments, including the bracket format, selection process and past winners.
Here's a detailed comparison of the NIT and March Madness postseason college basketball tournaments.
Although March Madness is considered the most popular of the two tournaments, the NIT has existed for longer and it is still considered an honor for a team to get invited.
Both NCAA tournaments take place at the same time, and both have a similar bracket format.
What is the NIT?
NIT bracket format
The NIT bracket consists of 32 teams and five rounds of play. Like March Madness, there are four sections to the bracket.
However, only the top half of the 32 teams are seeded 1 through 4. The remaining 16 teams are positioned in the bracket as close to their area of natural interest as possible, according to the NCAA.
The home team is determined by whichever team is seeded higher. The higher seed plays at their home campus up until the semifinals, when the action shifts to the neutral site of Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is the home of the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis, IN, and hosts the NIT semifinals and championship.
NIT selection process
Since 2017, teams have been offered automatic bids by winning their regular-season conference title and not being selected for the NCAA Tournament. The members of the NIT selection committee submit a ballot of 32 teams they feel deserve a spot in the tournament.
The programs that have received a vote on every committee member's ballot move to the at-large selection board. The remaining teams that have earned at least one vote are moved to what is referred to as the "nomination board."
The committee continues to vote and rank the remaining teams based on a "cross country scoring system" to determine the final teams to earn their invitation. Teams that are selected for the NIT have the option to decline their invitation to the tournament and are not required to participate.
NIT tournament winners history
YEAR
SCHOOL
SCORE
RUNNER UP
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
1938
Temple
60-36
Colorado
Don Shields, Temple
1939
Long Island
44-32
Loyola
Bill Lloyd, St. John's
1940
Colorado
51-40
Duquesne
Bob Doll, Colorado
1941
Long Island
56-42
Ohio
Frankie Baumholtz, Ohio
1942
West Virginia
47-45
Western Kentucky State
Rudy Baric, West Virginia
1943
St. John's
48-27
Toledo
Harry Boykoff, St. John's
1944
St. John's
47-39
DePaul
Bill Kotsores, St. John's
1945
DePaul
71-54
Bowling Green
George Mikan, DePaul
1946
Kentucky
46-45
Rhode Island
Ernie Calverley, Rhode Island
1947
Utah
49-45
Kentucky
Vern Gardner, Utah
1948
Saint Louis
65-52
NYU
Ed Macauley, Saint Louis
1949
San Francisco
48-47
Loyola Chicago
Don Lofgran, San Francisco
1950
CCNY
69-61
Bradley
Ed Warner, CCNY
1951
BYU
62-43
Dayton
Roland Minson, BYU
1952
La Salle
75-64
Dayton
Tom Gola and Norm Grekin, La Salle
1953
Seton Hall
58-46
St. John's
Walter Dukes, Seton Hall
1954
Holy Cross
71-62
Duquesne
Togo Palazzi, Holy Cross
1955
Duquesne
70-58
Dayton
Maurice Stokes, St. Francis (PA)
1956
Louisville
93-80
Dayton
Charlie Tyra, Louisville
1957
Bradley
84-83
Memphis State
Win Wilfong, Memphis State
1958
Xavier
78-74
Dayton
Hank Stein, Xavier
1959
St. John's
76-71
Bradley
Tony Jackson, St. John's
1960
Bradley
88-72
Providence
Lenny Wilkens, Providence
1961
Providence
62-59
Saint Louis
Vin Ernst, Providence
1962
Dayton
73-67
St. John's
Bill Chmielewski, Dayton
1963
Providence
81-66
Canisius
Raymond Flynn, Providence
1964
Bradley
86-54
New Mexico
Levern Tart, Bradley
1965
St. John's
55-51
Villanova
Ken McIntyre, St. John's
1966
BYU
97-84
NYU
Bill Melchionni, Villanova
1967
Southern Illinois
71-56
Marquette
Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois
1968
Dayton
61-48
Kansas
Don May, Dayton
1969
Temple
89-76
Boston College
Terry Driscoll, Boston College
1970
Marquette
65-53
St. John's
Dean Meminger, Marquette
1971
North Carolina
84-66
Georgia Tech
Bill Chamberlain, North Carolina
1972
Maryland
100-69
Niagara
Tom McMillen, Maryland
1973
Virginia Tech
92-91
Notre Dame
John Schumate, Notre Dame
1974
Purdue
87-81
Utah
Mike Sojourner, Utah
1975
Princeton
80-69
Providence
Ron Lee, Oregon
1976
Kentucky
71-67
Charlotte
Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte
1977
St. Bonaventure
94-91
Houston
Greg Sanders, St. Bonaventure
1978
Texas
101-93
NC State
Jim Krivacs and Ron Baxter, Texas
1979
Indiana
53-52
Purdue
Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert, Indiana
1980
Virginia
58-55
Minnesota
Ralph Sampson, Virginia
1981
Tulsa
86-84
Syracuse
Greg Stewart, Tulsa
1982
Bradley
67-58
Purdue
J.J. Anderson, Bradley
1983
Fresno State
69-60
DePaul
Ron Anderson, Fresno State
1984
Michigan
83-63
Notre Dame
Tim McCormick, Michigan
1985
UCLA
65-62
Indiana
Reggie Miller, UCLA
1986
Ohio State
73-63
Wyoming
Brad Sellers, Ohio State
1987
Southern Miss
84-80
La Salle
Randolph Keys, Southern Miss
1988
Connecticut
72-67
Ohio State
Phil Gamble, Connecticut
1989
St. John's
73-65
Saint Louis
Jayson Williams, St. John's
1990
Vanderbilt
74-72
Saint Louis
Scott Draud, Vanderbilt
1991
Stanford
78-72
Oklahoma
Adam Keefe, Stanford
1992
Virginia
81-76 (OT)
Notre Dame
Bryant Stith, Virginia
1993
Minnesota
62-61
Georgetown
Voshon Lenard, Minnesota
1994
Villanova
80-73
Vanderbilt
Doremus Bennerman, Siena
1995
Virginia Tech
65-64
Marquette
Shawn Smith, Virginia Tech
1996
Nebraska
60-56
Saint Joseph's
Erick Strickland, Nebraska
1997
Michigan*
82-73
Florida State
Robert Traylor, Michigan
1998
Minnesota*
79-72
Penn State
Kevin Clark, Minnesota
1999
California
61-60
Clemson
Sean Lampley, California
2000
Wake Forest
71-61
Notre Dame
Robert O'Kelley, Wake Forest
2001
Tulsa
79-66
Alabama
Marcus Hill, Tulsa
2002
Memphis
72-62
South Carolina
Dejuan Wagner, Memphis
2003
St. John's*
70-67
Georgetown
Marcus Hatten, St. John's
2004
Michigan
62-55
Rutgers
Daniel Horton, Michigan
2005
South Carolina
60-57
Saint Joseph's
Carlos Powell, South Carolina
2006
South Carolina
76-64
Michigan
Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina
2007
West Virginia
78-73
Clemson
Frank Young, West Virginia
2008
Ohio State
92-85
Massachusetts
Kosta Koufos, Ohio State
2009
Penn State
69-63
Baylor
Jamelle Cornley, Penn State
2010
Dayton
79-68
North Carolina
Chris Johnson, Dayton
2011
Wichita State
66-57
Alabama
Graham Hatch, Wichita State
2012
Stanford
75-51
Minnesota
Aaron Bright, Stanford
2013
Baylor
74-54
Iowa
Pierre Jackson, Baylor
2014
Minnesota
65-63
SMU
Austin Hollins, Minnesota
2015
Stanford
66-64 (OT)
Miami
Chasson Randle, Stanford
2016
George Washington
76-60
Valparaiso
Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington
2017
TCU
88-56
Georgia Tech
Kenrich Williams, TCU
2018
Penn State
82-66
Utah
Lamar Stevens, Penn State
2019
Texas
81-66
Lipscomb
Kerwin Roach, Texas
2020
Canceled
2021
Memphis
77-64
Mississippi State
Landers Nolley II, Memphis
2022
Xavier
73-72
Texas A&M
Colby Jones, Xavier
2023
North Texas
68-61
UAB
Tylor Perry, North Texas
via www.ncaa.com
What is March Madness?
March Madness bracket format
This tournament is a single-elimination bracket consisting of 68 teams from Division I conferences. The start of the NCAA Tournament begins with the "first four," in which eight teams compete for the final four vacant spots in the first round of the tournament.
The first round starts with 64 teams. Seven rounds consisting of 67 games are played to determine a winner. All games are played at neutral sites and traditionally move to a larger venue for the Final Four and National Championship games.
March Madness selection process
The first of two ways a team can earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament is by winning the postseason conference tournament to earn an automatic bid. It means that the conference tournament champion will be automatically included in the tournament regardless of their regular season record.
The other way to earn a selection is through an at-large bid. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee meets once all regular and postseason games have concluded to select 36 teams that did not earn an automatic qualification.
There's no set formula to determine how the selection committee picks the remaining teams; certain stats, records and rankings are all taken into account.
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