NIT will no longer guarantee tournament spots for regular-season conference champions

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Regular-season conference champions are no longer guaranteed spots in the National Invitation Tournament.

The NIT Board of Managers tweaked its qualifying rules for its postseason tournament Friday, saying regular-season champs who do not win their conference tournament and are not otherwise selected to the NCAA Tournament will not receive an automatic bid to the NIT.

Instead, the NIT will guarantee two teams — based on the NET rankings — from each of major six conferences, the Atlantic Coast, the Big East, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Southeastern.

The top two teams in the NET rankings not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament from each conference, regardless of win-loss record, will be selected. Additionally, the 12 teams automatically selected will be guaranteed the opportunity to host a game in the first round of the NIT.