The NIT Season Tip-Off returns again as one of the best college basketball Thanksgiving tournaments. Four fantastic programs will compete in hopes of leaving New York as champions.
Although it has taken a variety of forms since its inception in 1985, the NIT Season Tip-Off has successfully drawn a number of quality NCAA basketball schools. Recent champions have included Virginia last year and Villanova in 2015, and an impressive three of the four participants made the NCAA Tournament back in 2016.
While the tournament had 16 teams seeded in bracket format prior to 2014, the current format sees a handful of teams facing off at campus sites before four teams square off in the championship round semifinals at the Barclays Center in New York.
Louisville, Tennessee, Kansas, and Marquette headline the event this year in one of the best fields the tournament has ever seen.
Both the Jayhawks and Volunteers have been pegged as serious national champion contenders. If they meet Friday in the finals it will be a top 5 matchup with the winner scoring a huge early season resume booster. Marquette boasts one of the most explosive offenses in the country and Louisville has a fresh bounce in its step with the arrival of Coach Chris Mack.
Let’s take a closer look at what to expect in the NIT Season Tip-Off.