Long before March Madness reigned supreme, the National Invitational Tournament was the preeminent basketball competition in America. Established in 1938 by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, the NIT routinely drew the top hoops teams in the nation to Madison Square Garden for a high-octane winner-take-all tourney.
More than eight decades later, the NIT continues to capture some of that past glory with its annual 32-team single-elimination showdown. This year's field features a dazzling selection of top programs.
College basketball odds have the SMU Mustangs favored, but the Santa Clara Broncos and San Francisco aren't far behind on the odds board.
NIT odds
| Team |  |
|---|---|
| SMU | +350 |
| Santa Clara | +600 |
| San Francisco | +650 |
| UC Irvine | +800 |
| George Mason | +1000 |
| Stanford | +1100 |
| Dayton | +1100 |
| North Texas | +1300 |
| Saint Joseph's | +2300 |
| Bradley | +2900 |
Odds as of 3-17.
NIT favorites
SMU Mustangs (+350)
Rival teams had better hope the Mustangs don't have a chip on their shoulder after getting snubbed on Selection Sunday. Andy Enfield's crew finished the season 23-10, good for fourth place in the ultra competitive ACC, and nearly defeated Clemson in the conference quarterfinals. That loss squashed their March Madness dreams, but SMU is a very dangerous team that scores in spurts and holds rival teams to a respectable 71.1 points per game.
Santa Clara Broncos (+600)
Few teams can build a lead faster than the 20-12 Broncos, who ranked eight nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.8). Santa Clara is led by junior forward Elijah Mahi, who shot 45.7% from deep, but five other players shot 37.5% or better from downtown, making the Broncos one of the hardest teams to guard in this tournament.
San Francisco Dons (+650)
Underestimate San Francisco at your own peril. The 24-9 Dons finished third in the WCC and boast an explosive scorer in senior guard Malik Thomas. The USC transfer averaged 19.3 points per game this season and hung 27 on Gonzaga in the conference semifinal.
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Declined Bids
Not every team is excited to play in the National Invitational Tournament. Here are the teams that declined an NIT bid in 2025:
- Indiana
- LSU
- Northwestern
- Pittsburgh
- Rutgers
- South Carolina
- Wake Forest
Where can I bet on the NIT?
March is one of the busiest times of the year for online sportsbooks thanks to March Madness and the NIT. Every betting site will offer NIT odds, but the best sites are safe and secure, offer a wide range of banking options, and give you a ton of markets for each game. Check out the best college basketball betting sites in your region.
What is the NIT?
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament held annually in the United States. It was founded in 1938 and predates the NCAA Tournament by one year. The NIT was originally considered the premier postseason tournament in college basketball, but its status has diminished somewhat over the years with the growth of March Madness.
The NIT typically invites teams that did not receive bids to the NCAA Tournament, although there have been instances where NCAA Tournament teams that were considered on the bubble or from mid-major conferences have participated. The tournament is organized by the NCAA and is played at various neutral-site locations, with the semifinals and championship game typically held at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City.
While the NCAA Tournament determines the national champion, the NIT provides an opportunity for teams to continue their seasons and potentially win a postseason title. Winning the NIT can still be a significant achievement for college basketball programs, particularly those that may not have had as much success in the regular season or missed out on the NCAA Tournament.
NIT odds explained
Sportsbooks post odds for the NIT immediately following Selection Sunday on March 17. These odds are constantly adjusted due to a number of factors including seeding, team performance, and player injuries. Sportsbooks also adjust NIT futures odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
NIT futures odds will usually look like this:
- Ohio State +550
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $550 if the Buckeyes win the title. If it's close to the end of the regular season or even during the tournament and college basketball has a very dominant team, you might see that a team has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons -120
This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on a Wake Forest championship.
Above we have posted the American odds for NIT futures. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool.
How to bet college basketball futures
Learning how to successfully bet on the National Invitational Tournament is one of the hardest things to do in sports betting. The single elimination format of the NCAA Finals and the fact that a school needs to win four straight games against quality opponents means that the favorites don't always take home the title.
Another factor that comes into play is that the tournament bracket isn't set until Selection Sunday. As the college basketball season winds down, you can be pretty sure that the big favorites will slide into the bracket as top seeds. But for teams in the middle of the pack, nothing is certain.
As always when betting futures odds, be sure to look into college basketball injuries and suspensions. You might find some current value in a team that is expecting to get a key player back before the NIT begins.
Where can I find NIT spreads?
Check out our college basketball scores and matchups page daily to see the latest college basketball lines. In addition to NIT spreads, total, and moneyline info, you'll also find game previews, betting trends, line movement history, and ATS and O/U consensus data for every National Invitational Tournament game. We don't sleep until the nets are cut down.
Past NIT winners
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||
| 2023 |  North Texas |
 UAB |
| 2022 |  Xavier |
 Texas A&M |
| 2021 |  Memphis |
 Mississippi State |
| 2020 | No tournament (COVID-19) | NA |
| 2019 |  Texas |
 Lipscomb |
| 2018 |  Penn State |
 Utah |
| 2017 |  TCU |
 Georgia Tech |
| 2016 |  George Washington |
 Valparaiso |
| 2015 |  Stanford |
 Miami |
| 2014 |  Minnesota |
SMU |
Schools with the highest winning percentages in NIT history
Best NIT betting promos
Betting boosts are special promotions offered by legal sports betting sites that increase the odds for a specific game, event, or prop, designed to give you better value on your bets or encourage you to sign up for a new sportsbook with unique rewards and offerings.
They can be a great way for bettors to get better value for their wagers, as the odds are temporarily increased, thereby increasing a potential payout. The promotions are usually limited to a specific period and are subject to terms and conditions, so it's always important to read the fine print for more details.
Types of odds boosts
There are a number of different types of betting boosts available, with some targeting specific games, some aimed at specific leagues, and some just enticing users to try a new sportsbook. Here are the most common types of betting boosts:
- Odds boost: When a sportsbook enhances the value of a specifically chosen player prop or a curated parlay/SGP, offering better odds than if you normally bet or created the wager yourself.
- Profit boosts: When you are given a token that increases the value of any bet you want (such as a 25% boost on one Super Bowl bet). Sometimes these tokens are for all bets, while sometimes they have specific criteria (such parlays/SGPs only or bets above a certain price).
- Sign-up offers: Operators offer benefits such as free bonus bets after your first wager, bonus bets offered as insurance if your first bet loses, an initial account deposit match, or even giving you discounts on other services for signing up with a sportsbook.
