NIT Trims Field to 16 Teams, Moves Tournament to Dallas Area

DALLAS (AP) — The NIT is shifting all the 2021 occasion to Texas, taking the semifinals and championship sport out of New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard for the primary time within the 83-year historical past of faculty basketball’s oldest postseason event.
The pandemic can be decreasing the sphere to 16 groups from the same old 32, and all video games are set for the Dallas space. The 2 venues are the College of North Texas in Denton and an area in Frisco that’s residence to a G League group affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks.
First-round video games will probably be performed March 17-20, with the quarterfinals March 25. The semifinals are set for March 27, adopted by the championship sport the following day. Particular arenas for every spherical weren’t introduced Monday.
The sector for the NIT will probably be introduced after the NCAA Tournament is ready March 14.
The NIT champion has been topped in New York yearly for the reason that event began in 1938. Earlier rounds usually are held on the venues of designated residence groups.
Final yr’s cancellation due to COVID-19 was the primary within the occasion’s historical past. The Texas Longhorns received the newest NIT in 2019.