Columbia wins the 2026 WBIT women’s basketball tournament

Columbia won the 2026 WBIT title, defeating No. 1 BYU, 81-64, marking the Lions’ first WBIT championship. Riley Weiss was named the Most Oustanding Player after dropping 20 points in the championship.

Below is everything you need to know about the 2026 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

Games began Thursday, March 19, as 32 teams competed with hopes of reaching the title game in Wichita, Kansas. Minnesota won the 2025 tournament, beating Belmont in the championship game in Indianapolis.

2026 WBIT bracket

👉 Click or tap here to see the printable bracket

2026 WBIT: Schedule, results

*All times Eastern

• Selection Sunday
  • 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15 
• First Round
  • Thursday, March 19, at campus sites
    • Eastern Kentucky 72, No. 1 Utah 58
    • No. 2 Miami (Florida) 82, Georgia Southern 56
    • Quinnipiac 71, No.3 George Mason 64
    • No. 4 Columbia 74, Saint John’s (New York) 26
    • Missouri 67, Seton Hall 57
    • No. 4 Harvard 73, Navy 52
    • No. 2 Kansas 79, Troy 70 
    • No. 2 Kansas State 69, Georgia Tech 65
    • McNeese 68, No. 1 Texas A&M 48  
    • No. 1 North Dakota State 75, Chattanooga 62 
    • No. 3 Rice 66, Louisiana Tech 61 
    • No. 1 BYU 72, Alabama A&M 47
    • No. 3 Wisconsin 62, Oregon State 58
    • No. 4 San Diego State 61, UC Irvine 55
    • No. 2 Stanford 79, LMU 76
    • No. 3 Cal 72, Santa Clara 68
• Second Round
  • Sunday, March 22, at campus sites 
  • Monday, March 23, at campus sites 
• Quarterfinals: 
• Semifinals
• Championship

How the WBIT field is selected

The regular-season champion of any NCAA Division I conference (as determined by the conference’s tie-break protocol) not otherwise selected to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will secure an automatic qualification to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. Co-champions who do not receive the declaration of WBIT representative through the conference’s tie-break protocol will not receive automatic qualification. Institutions ineligible for postseason play will not receive automatic qualification as a regular-season champion.

The first four teams out of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship — as determined by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee — will receive an automatic bid and will be the top four seeds in the WBIT field.

Click or tap here for more information about WBIT selections.

WBIT championship history