On February 22, 2019, the NCAA announced a set of experimental rules that were used in this edition of the NIT. The following rules were also used in the
2018 NIT: • The three-point line was moved to the
FIBA standard of . When the arc approaches the sideline, it changed to a line parallel to and from the sideline. • The free-throw lane was widened from the current college standard of 12 feet to the NBA standard of 16 feet. • After an offensive rebound, the shot clock was reset to 20 seconds instead of the current NCAA standard of 30. A set of rules relating to free throws that had been used in the
2017 NIT were used again in the 2019 edition, with one modification: • Team foul counts, for purposes of determining bonus free throws, were reset to zero at the 10-minute mark of each half, effectively dividing the game into quarters for that purpose. This mirrored the current practice in NCAA women's basketball, which has been played in quarters since the 2015–16 season. • The "one-and-one" was eliminated. All bonus free throw situations resulted in two free throws for the non-fouled team. • Teams entered the bonus upon the fifth team foul in each 10-minute segment. • The team foul count was reset to zero at the start of any overtime period. Teams entered the bonus upon the fourth team foul in an overtime period. • In a completely new feature, the NCAA adopted the NBA's bonus rule regarding team fouls in the last 2 minutes of any period. Teams entered the bonus on the second team foul in the last 2 minutes of a 10-minute segment or overtime period, regardless of the total team foul count at that point of the period. ;Notes ==Participants==