Although the men's National Invitation Tournament has become overlooked with fans caring a lot more about the NCAA tournament, there is still plenty of value in the second-tier event.

Considered a consolation tournament by some, it's also an excellent chance for some smaller programs to finally get a chance to move into the spotlight and show what they can do. Meanwhile, younger teams at big programs can use this opportunity to gain momentum heading into next year.

TCU won the NIT last season, and one year later the Horned Frogs are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.

This type of future success is far from guaranteed, but the 32 teams selected for the NIT are hoping to end their 2017-18 season on a high note.

Full bracket available at CBSSports.com.

First-Round Matchups

March 13

No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Hampton, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 6 Rider, 10 p.m. (ESPN3)

No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 8 Wagner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 3 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 6 Vermont, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)

No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 7 Northern Kentucky, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

No. 1 USC vs. No. 8 UNC Asheville, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 4 Western Kentucky vs. No. 5 Boston College, 8 p.m. (ESPN3)

No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Florida Gulf Coast, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 1 Saint Mary's vs. No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana, 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

March 14

No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5 Temple, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)

No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 7 Harvard, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 4 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Nebraska, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 6 BYU, 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

No. 4 Boise State vs. No. 5 Washington, 10 p.m. (ESPN3)

No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 Louisiana, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)

No. 2 Utah vs. No. 7 UC Davis, 9 p.m. (ESPN3)

Full schedule will be updated when available. All games can be streamed online via WatchESPN.

Tournament Schedule

First Round: March 13-14

Second Round: March 15-19

Quarterfinals: March 20-21

Semifinals: March 27

Championship Game: March 29

Semifinals and championship will be played at Madison Square Garden, New York. All other games will be played at campus sites.

Teams to Watch

Middle Tennessee

Few teams had a more disappointing end to the season than Middle Tennessee.

The Blue Raiders appeared tournament-bound after dominating Conference USA, winning 11 straight games, including a dominant victory over Western Kentucky. This win led to this claim from Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports Radio:

Unfortunately, a pair of losses to Marshall and then Southern Miss in the C-USA tournament, paired with a lack of high-quality wins, kept them out of March Madness.

Despite the disappointment, Nick King and Giddy Potts have the talent to help Middle Tennessee cruise through the NIT bracket, especially with a defense that allows just 65.8 points per game.

Effort might be a question mark for a senior-laden team, but there should be no questioning the ability.

Notre Dame

There was a lot of debate about Notre Dame heading into Selection Sunday, but rather than discussing the resume as a whole, it was about how good this group is when fully healthy.

Bonzie Colson missed 15 games but is back now and is one of the best big men in the country when on the floor. Matt Farrell was also among those who missed time this season because of injury but helped make an impact down the stretch.

"I hope they can get in because I think they can beat anybody," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Notre Dame, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN. "Mike [Brey] has that team together all year, forget it."

Despite the endorsement, the Fighting Irish missed the NCAA tournament field.

Still, this is an extremely talented squad with Colson, Farrell and T.J. Gibbs Jr. as tough of a scoring trio as there is in this tournament. Colson and Farrell are also seniors and will likely want to end their remarkable careers with a championship.

Marquette

There are certainly teams that should be more disappointed for missing the cut, including USC and possibly Louisville, Saint Mary's, Baylor and more.

Marquette had 13 losses, including an especially embarrassing one to DePaul.

Despite the resume, the Golden Eagles are dangerous to win any game thanks to the backcourt duo of Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey. The two guards average a combined 40.5 points per game this season and can score from anywhere on the floor.

While the defense has been suspect this season, these shot-makers helped Marquette earn five wins over NCAA tournament at-large teams.

Against mostly inferior competition, the Big East squad has a chance to make a run in this tournament.