March Madness 2017: Bracket Predictions, Odds Tips for Saturday Round 3 Schedule

After a largely uneventful Thursday slate, the 16 teams that came out of those opening games at the 2017 NCAA tournament victorious will look to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 on Saturday. 

Villanova and Gonzaga are the two highest seeds that will be in action, as they will look to avoid being the first No. 1 seeds to be sent home early. Middle Tennessee will look to be Cinderella in its game against Butler. 

While things mostly followed chalk in the round of 64, now is when things will start to get interesting and the true contenders will make their presence felt. 

In anticipation of Saturday's tournament action, here's a look at what to expect when things tip off for the right to continue playing next week.

Region	Matchup	Spread	Prediction
West	No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Notre Dame	WVU (-3)	Notre Dame 66-62
East	No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 Wisconsin	Nova (-5.5)	Villanova 71-60
West	No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 8 Northwestern	Gonzaga (-11)	Gonzaga 77-65
West	No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 11 Xavier	FSU (-6)	Xavier 77-73
South	No. 4 Butler vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee	Butler (-4)	Middle Tennessee 68-65
West	No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 7 Saint Mary's	Arizona (-4)	Arizona 81-70
East	No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Virginia	Florida (-1.5)	Florida 63-59
Midwest	No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 5 Iowa State	Pick 'Em	Purdue 71-69

Biggest Mismatch: Gonzaga vs. Northwestern

It was a great moment for Northwestern to win its first NCAA tournament game in its inaugural appearance, though let's not act like it doesn't come with a huge assist from Vanderbilt's Matthew Fisher-Davis on a last-minute blunder. 

Things will get more difficult for the Wildcats in the round of 32 against a Gonzaga team that's only lost one game all year. The Bulldogs didn't look great early against South Dakota State before finally pulling away in the second half for a 66-46 win. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, history isn't on Northwestern's side trying to pull off an upset to reach the Sweet 16:

One big key for Northwestern against Vanderbilt was scoring 32 points in the paint, a feat that will be difficult to duplicate because of Gonzaga's size with Zach Collins and Przemek Karnowski. 

The Bulldogs also had the nation's second-best defense by field-goal percentage (36.6) this season. Despite having just 66 points in the tournament opener, they averaged 84 points per game during the regular season. 

Defense was Northwestern's strength during the season, allowing only 65.1 points per game, but offense was a problem. It averages 71 points per game and ranks 113th in offensive efficiency, per Sports-Reference.com.

There just aren't enough ways for Northwestern to counteract the many different weapons Gonzaga has to attack the opposition. The Wildcats have made for a great story since Selection Sunday, but every dream comes to an end.

Biggest Upset: Middle Tennessee Over Butler

It seemed strange to call Middle Tennessee's win over Minnesota on Thursday an upset since the Blue Raiders were actually the betting favorite in the game. 

Since Cinderella is defined more by the seed than the actual talent of the team, Middle Tennessee will qualify for that title heading into its matchup against Butler. 

The deeper you dig into Middle Tennessee, though, the less it resembles some kind of happy-to-be-here underdog and a bonafide contender for a run to the second weekend.

Following the Blue Raiders' victory over Minnesota, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer highlighted the reasons why this team is battle-tested for the tournament and has balance on both sides of the ball to frustrate opponents:

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They’ve built off that success, and came into Thursday with a 30–4 record, including a 15-point win at Ole Miss, a 23-point home win over Vanderbilt, and a five-point home win over UNC Wilmington, a no. 12 seed in this year’s bracket that acquitted itself very well in a narrow loss to Virginia. Middle Tennessee was 17–1 in Conference USA play, with its only defeat coming in a three-point loss at UTEP. Head coach Kermit Davis’s team has an offensive rating of 112.5 (32nd in the country) and a defensive rating of 95.0 (28th), the type of balanced profile you would expect from a high-major team in one of the top four seed lines.

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By contrast, Butler really doesn't do anything that jumps out on the court. The offense is efficient, ranking 27th in points per 100 possessions, but the defense has been hit-and-miss, as evidenced by being ranked 140th in efficiency. 

The Bulldogs do have impressive wins over Arizona and Villanova (twice), but they ended the postseason with an uninspired 5-5 record over their final 10 games before knocking off Winthrop.

After shocking the college basketball world last year with a win over Michigan State in the round of 64, Middle Tennessee will prove it is more than just a novelty act with a trip to the Sweet 16 this year. 

Best Game: Purdue vs. Iowa State

In terms of competitive games, Purdue vs. Iowa State has the most potential to provide fireworks because these two teams will show flashes of greatness on any given day. 

Purdue lost a close game against Villanova way back in November. Despite the loss, it provided a springboard for the Boilermakers to take the next step after making quick exits in the previous two NCAA tournaments. 

Iowa State was supposed to be in a rebuilding year after losing Georges Niang and Abdel Nader. Head coach Steve Prohm coached his team up, with the help of senior leader Monte Morris and a breakout season from Deonte Burton, to lead the Cyclones to a Big 12 tournament title. 

There are significant flaws with both teams that could make this an ugly contest. The Boilermakers can get too reliant on Caleb Swanigan, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since he's recorded 27 double-doubles, but they need more in the tournament. 

As Campus Insiders noted in its preview for this game, everyone came to play for Purdue in its win over Vermont:

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Five players in double figures and everyone contributing led to the Boilermakers being able to hold onto Vermont. Big buckets were coming from everyone. Swanigan and Isaac Haas manned the paint defensively, and they’ll need that again against a tough Iowa State team that will try to penetrate. Carsen Edwards and Dakota Mathias combined to go 5 for 11 from 3-point range against the Catamounts.

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Iowa State is more flashy and boasts tremendous athleticism, led by Morris, though its desire to try to get into the paint plays right into Purdue's strength with Swanigan and Isaac Hayes, who brings 7'2" size off the bench, ready to defend the basket.

For perspective, the Cyclones' don't have great size in the starting lineup. Solomon Young is the tallest starter at 6'8", so they will need to find ways to put Purdue's big men back on their heels to advance. 

Usually a battle of size against athleticism would lead me to favor the latter, but Purdue has such a decided advantage with its strength that Iowa State won't be able to overcome it in the final minutes.