Penn State and Illinois Chosen for 2024 WBIT Field

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State and Illinois will represent the Big Ten Conference after being selected to participate in the 32-team Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), which is making its postseason debut. Penn State earned a No. 1 seed while Illinois is a No. 4 seed.
 
WBIT games will be played March 21 (first round), March 24 (second round) and March 28 (quarterfinals), with the highest-seeded teams hosting games. WBIT semifinal and final games will be played April 1 and 3 at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. ESPN will broadcast all WBIT games, with the preliminary rounds held on ESPN+. The semifinals will air on ESPNU and the championship game will air on ESPN2.
 
The WBIT is a newly created 32-team postseason single-elimination tournament owned and sponsored by the NCAA. The competition is the second-best women's basketball postseason tournament available (behind the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament) and is in its first year of existence. Created to ensure equity between the NCAA's men's and women's basketball postseason opportunities, the WBIT does not replace any existing event and will instead be held as a separate NCAA-funded entity.
 
As one of the four top seeds, the Lady Lions will begin their postseason run at home, playing host to unseeded George Mason on Thursday, March 21 in the Bryce Jordan Center. With a victory, Penn State would advance to a second-round matchup against either No. 4 seed Ball State or unseeded Belmont on March 24, with the time and location to be determined. It is the first postseason berth for the Lady Lions since taking part in the WNIT in 2018.
 
Illinois welcomes unseeded Missouri State on Thursday to the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. for a first-round contest. With a win, the Fighting Illini would challenge No. 1 seed James Madison or unseeded Stony Brook on Sunday. Illinois is making its second straight postseason appearance after earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.