Three teams then withdrew prior to competing, leaving the actual field size at 18 for the tournament.

In lieu of a traditional bracket, a model previously used by the NIT was implemented, in which the matchups are set after each round.

Five matchups in the tournament were designated as "Legend Games", honoring Willis Reed, Travis Grant, Zelmo Beaty, Marques Haynes and Cleo Hill, all of whom played college basketball at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

[2] In addition to advancing in the tournament, the winning teams received a trophy honoring the legend for whom the particular game was named.

Three programs accepted invitations, but withdrew prior to playing: Merrimack,[22][a] UMBC,[23][24] Wofford.