Monmouth, Bonnies, South Carolina, Valpo top seeds in NIT

The top seeds in the National Invitation Tournament are Monmouth, St. Bonaventure, South Carolina and Valparaiso.

The Monmouth Hawks bench reacts to a three point shot against the Iona Gaels on February 19, 2016 in West Long Branch, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

The first four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament automatically receive No. 1 seeds in the NIT, a practice that began last year.

San Diego State and Saint Mary's were among other schools relegated to the NIT after their NCAA hopes were dashed Sunday.
With the NCAA selection committee favoring power-conference programs over the mid-majors who also sat on the bubble, a record 15 automatic qualifiers ended up in the 32-team NIT field.
Regular-season conference champions that don't make the NCAA Tournament are guaranteed spots in the NIT.
One notable absence will be LSU and freshman sensation Ben Simmons, considered the nation's top NBA prospect.

Tigers coach Johnny Jones announced his team would not participate in a postseason tournament after being left out of the NCAA field.