The NCAA announced Wednesday it will award the top four teams not included in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship tournament with No. 1 seeds in the NIT tournament.

The NCAA releases its overall seed list after the bracket is announced, which includes every team in the tournament ranked one through 68. The new provision will also rank teams at 69, 70, 71 and 72, with those teams hosting a home game during the NIT Tournament.

"We think this is a natural progression to make, given that these are the last four teams under consideration for the NCAA tournament," Dan Gavitt said, NCAA vice president of men's basketball championships. "They have earned the opportunity to be a number one seed in the NIT and play home games in their quest to make it to Madison Square Garden for the NIT championship. We believe this is an appropriate way to connect these two postseason tournaments."