March Madness Bracket 2016: Complete Round 1 Picks for Your Printable Sheet
There is nothing easy about picking the NCAA tournament, which is what makes March Madness so much fun. Before even thinking about choosing a national champion, you have to go through a number of difficult calls in the first round.
With the exception of a few obvious picks, there will be heavy debate about almost all of the 32 games set to take place on Thursday and Friday. Intense studying needs to be done before picking the close battles between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds or finding the perfect upset.
Either that or just pick the games by your favorite color—you will probably have a better chance of winning your pool.
While picking an unpredictable tournament seems like a futile process, here is a look at complete picks for each game along with a breakdown of a few notable upsets.
| No. 1 Kansas over No. 16 Austin Peay | No. 1 North Carolina over No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast |
| No. 9 Connecticut over No. 8 Colorado | No. 9 Providence over No. 8 USC |
| No. 5 Maryland over No. 12 South Dakota State | No. 5 Indiana over No. 12 Chattanooga |
| No. 4 California over No. 13 Hawaii | No. 4 Kentucky over No. 13 Stony Brook |
| No. 11 Wichita State over No. 6 Arizona | No. 6 Notre Dame over No. 11 Michigan |
| No. 3 Miami over No. 14 Buffalo | No. 3 West Virginia over No. 14 Stephen F. Austin |
| No. 10 Temple over No. 7 Iowa | No. 7 Wisconsin over No. 10 Pittsburgh |
| No. 2 Villanova over UNC Asheville | No. 2 Xavier over No. 15 Weber State |
| No. 1 Oregon over No. 16 Holy Cross | No. 1 Virginia over No. 16 Hampton |
| No. 8 St. Joseph's over No. 9 Cincinnati | No. 9 Butler over No. 8 Texas Tech |
| No. 12 Yale over No. 5 Baylor | No. 5 Purdue over No. 12 Arkansas Little Rock |
| No. 4 Duke over No. 13 UNC Wilmington | No. 13 Iona over No. 4 Iowa State |
| No. 6 Texas over No. 11 Northern Iowa | No. 11 Gonzaga over No. 6 Seton Hall |
| No. 3 Texas A&M over No. 14 Green Bay | No. 3 Utah over No. 14 Fresno State |
| No. 7 Oregon State over No. 10 VCU | No. 10 Syracuse over No. 7 Dayton |
| No. 2 Oklahoma over CSU Bakersfield | No. 2 Michigan State over No. 15 Middle Tennessee |
Notable Games
No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 Seton Hall
Seton Hall is a talented team that is peaking at the right time. Isaiah Whitehead came to the Pirates last year as a highly touted freshman, and he is finally reaching his potential with 18.4 points per game this season. The guard averaged 23.3 points per game during the team's run to the Big East tournament title and has scored at least 20 in seven straight games.
Unfortunately, this is just a difficult matchup for Seton Hall.
Gonzaga features one of the top frontcourt duos in the country in Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis (both 6'10"), and the Pirates don't have all that much size to defend them. While the Bulldogs don't force a lot of turnovers, it isn't easy to score against this squad, either.
"Our confidence is at an all-time high," Wiltjer said this week, per Zachary Simonar of KLEW TV. "I think we're playing our best basketball. I think there's still room for improvement. So if we just continue to play with that same approach I think we're going to be good."
The Zags haven't been as dominant as in past years, but this is still a talented squad competing at a high level. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the team is almost twice as likely to make the Sweet 16 as any other double-digit seeds:
Although getting past Seton Hall will have to come first, head coach Mark Few's team has what it takes to pull off the upset.
No. 12 Yale vs. No. 5 Baylor
In recent years, the selection committee has done what it can to get higher-seeded teams closer to home. Not only was Baylor unable to get a favorable location, but the No. 5 seed could end up getting a road game.
College Basketball Talk broke down the situation:
Although it might not be as bad as some of the hostile environments Baylor saw during the Big 12 season, a favorable Yale crowd could play a role in this game.
As far as what happens on the court, the underdog is well-suited to handle Baylor's biggest strengths. The Bears are usually physically dominant inside and control rebounds on both ends, but Yale sits in the top 10 in the country in both offensive and defensive rebounding, according to KenPom.com. Even without a lot of size, the squad is disciplined and knows how to get the ball.
The high basketball IQ has led to wins in 17 of the last 18 games.
Yale also shoots the ball well from the outside and can take advantage of Baylor's suspect defense. Even without senior Jack Montague, Yale can pull off the upset over the bigger team.
No. 13 Iona vs. No. 4 Iowa State
Not to pick on the Big 12, but there could be a few more early exits after a poor showing in the NCAA tournament a year ago.
Iowa State was involved in one of the more surprising moments of last year's tourney, losing to No. 14-seeded UAB in the first round. That doesn't guarantee an early loss this time around, but a lot of the problems remain.
While the Cyclones do have one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation, they have struggled defensively and have often given up a lot of easy baskets inside. They also lack depth and have had major problems in road and neutral games, as evidenced by five straight loses away from Hilton Coliseum.
This could open up the door for Iona to pull off the upset. Like Iowa State, the Gaels run a fast-paced attack offensively behind an elite point guard in A.J. English. The do-it-all senior can set his teammates up for easy baskets or take over himself, both of which could be scary for the favorite.
If the Gaels play like they did in the MAAC tournament, they could remain dangerous this week.
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