The annual tournament started on campus sites for the first three rounds, with the Final 4 and championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Minnesota won this tournament after being the third Big Ten team in a row to make the NIT Finals (the two previous years a Big Ten team had lost the final game).
Southern from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was the league regular-season champion and lost in their conference tournament but is ineligible for the NIT due to Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions.
[citation needed] Arizona (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Kansas (Big 12), Michigan (Big Ten), Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Villanova (Big East) received automatic bids to the NIT, but did not accept them as they were selected as at-large teams in the 2014 NCAA tournament.
*#2 Illinois played at #7 Boston University and at #3 Clemson due to State Farm Center renovations.