The 73rd annual tournament began on March 16 on campus sites and ended on April 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2010 NIT field after losing in their respective conference tournaments, by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship and not qualifying for the NCAA tournament.
*Jacksonville split the Atlantic Sun regular season title with Campbell, Lipscomb and Belmont, but the conference tournament was won by fifth-seeded East Tennessee State.
[1] The entire 32-team field was announced on March 14, 2010, on The NIT Selection Show at 9 pm ET on ESPNU.
Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team (except #1 Illinois in the first round) Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City