2012 National Invitation Tournament
The 2012 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2012 [NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2012 NCAA tournament]. The annual tournament began on March 13 on campus sites and ended on March 29 at Madison Square Garden. Stanford defeated Minnesota in the final game, by a score of 75–51 to become NIT champions for second time.
Participants
Automatic qualifiers
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2012 NIT field by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship but failing to win their conference tournament. These teams also did not receive an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last bid |
| 2011–12 [Akron Zips men's basketball team|Akron] | MAC men's basketball tournament|MAC] | 22–11 | 5th | 2008 |
| 2011–12 [Bucknell Bison men's basketball team|Bucknell] | Patriot League men's basketball tournament|Patriot League] | 24–9 | 1st | Never |
| 2011–12 [Drexel Dragons men's basketball team|Drexel] | Colonial | 27–6 | 7th | 2007 |
| 2011–12 [Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team|Middle Tennessee] | 2012 [Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament|Sun Belt] | 25–6 | 3rd | 1988 |
| 2011–12 [Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team|Nevada] | WAC men's basketball tournament|WAC] | 26–6 | 5th | 2010 |
| 2011–12 [Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team|Oral Roberts] | 2012 [Summit League men's basketball tournament|Summit] | 27–6 | 8th | 2005 |
| 2011–12 [Savannah State Tigers basketball team|Savannah State] | MEAC men's basketball tournament|MEAC] | 21–11 | 1st | Never |
| 2011–12 [Stony Brook Seawolves men's basketball team|Stony Brook] | America East men's basketball tournament|America East] | 22–9 | 2nd | 2010 |
| 2011–12 [Texas–Arlington Mavericks men's basketball team|Texas–Arlington] | Southland Conference men's basketball tournament|Southland] | 24–8 | 2nd | 1981 |
| 2011–12 [Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team|Valparaiso] | Horizon League men's basketball tournament|Horizon] | 22–11 | 2nd | 2003 |