SMU, Dayton among top seeds in NIT as teams decline bids

Field Level Media|published: Sun 16th March, 22:58 2025

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Quarterfinal - Clemson vs SMU

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs guard Boopie Miller (2) shoots as Clemson Tigers forward Ian Schieffelin (4) defends in the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

SMU, Dayton, UC Irvine and San Francisco are the No. 1 seeds in the 2025 National Invitation Tournament, organizers revealed Sunday night.

Only four of the 32 teams in the field -- SMU, Stanford, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State -- hail from one of the five power conferences, marking a potentially sharp decline in quality for the traditional second-tier tournament.

The programs that declined tournament invites included Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Pitt, LSU and South Carolina. Indiana was among the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament field. For contrast, LSU (3-15 in Southeastern Conference play) and South Carolina (2-16) were the only two SEC teams out of 16 to miss the NCAA Tournament.

There were meant to be exempt bids for two teams from the ACC and SEC. SMU and Georgia Tech represent the ACC.

This also marks the first year the NIT faces competition from the College Basketball Crown, which was promised two teams from the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 conferences in its inaugural 16-team field.

As for the NIT, teams will play on campus sites before the semifinals and finals are held in Indianapolis. Games begin this Tuesday.

SMU will open against Northern Iowa and could face No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the second round, as the Cowboys face Wichita State.

Dayton will host former NCAA Tournament darlings Florida Atlantic in the opening game for their region, which also includes No. 2 seed George Mason, an Atlantic 10 rival. George Mason came close to stealing the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament from VCU on Sunday.

UC Irvine finished 28-6 this season and fell to UC San Diego in the Big West tournament final. The Anteaters open against Northern Colorado and could draw No. 4 seed Georgia Tech in the second round.

San Francisco will face Utah Valley and could face a regional rival in the second round, No. 4 seed San Jose State. Stanford is also in this West Coast-focused region, a No. 2 seed opening against Cal State Northridge.

--Field Level Media

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