Report: Baylor, Florida, Pitt, Oregon State to play in 2023 NIT Season Tip-Off

Baylor, Pitt, Florida and Oregon State are set to be part of the 2023 NIT Season Tip-Off CBS Sports and FanDuel’s Jon Rothstein reported Thursday. The event — formerly known as the Preseason NIT — will take place at the Barclays Center as it makes its return.

Last year, there was no Preseason NIT because of “high volume in other early season college basketball tournaments,” Rothstein reported at the time. That won’t be the case this year as the four teams will converge on Brooklyn for the event. Rothstein previously said Baylor, Pitt and Florida would all participate, and it’s now clear Oregon State will round out the tournament field Nov. 22 and 24, according to college basketball reporter Rocco Miller.

During the 2021 NIT Season Tip-Off, Iowa State defeated Memphis in the championship game while Xavier squeaked past Virginia Tech in the third place game.

More on the NIT Season Tip-Off field

Baylor is coming off a 23-11 overall record and an 11-7 mark in Big 12 play last year. But the Bears suffered some big losses this offseason as leading scorers Adam Flagler and Keyonte George declared for the 2023 NBA Draft and LJ Cryer transferred to Houston. However, Baylor got to work on the recruiting trail and has the No. 5-ranked recruiting class in the nation coming in, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

The crown jewel of the class is Ja’Kobe Walter — a Five Star Plus+ prospect and the No. 11-ranked prospect in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Pitt also made it into March Madness amid an impressive season under Jeff Capel. The Panthers went 24-12 overall and 14-6 in ACC play before falling to Duke in the conference tournament championship. They got a big year out of Blake Hinson, who declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his eligibility, meaning he could return to the Panthers in 2023-24.

Florida is coming off Year 1 of the Todd Golden era in Gainesville, and the Gators struggled. They went 16-17 overall and 9-9 in SEC play, but still clinched an appearance in the NIT.

But Golden and the Gators have done serious work in the portal this offseason, notably landing former Iona guard Walker Clayton Jr. and former Marshall center Micah Handlogten — the Nos. 21 and 40 overall transfers to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. All told, Florida has four commitments out of the portal.

As for Oregon State, the Beavers struggled mightily, finishing with an 11-21 overall record and a 5-15 mark in Pac-12 play.