March Madness 2016: Tournament Schedule, Bracket Predictions for No. 1 Seeds

There is no better month than March for college hoops fans. From the final regular-season games to the conference tournaments to the NCAA championship tournament itself, there is a wealth of action packed into a relatively small time frame. 

While fans don't know exactly when or where their favorite teams will be playing in the Big Dance—and still others are wondering if or when their preferred squads will make the tournament—now is the time to start getting the tournament dates memorized. Here's a rundown of the 2016 March Madness schedule. 

Date	Round	Location(s)
March 15, 16	First Four	UD Arena (Dayton, OH)
March 17, 19	First/Second Rounds	Dunkin Donuts Center (Providence, RI); Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, IA); PNC Arena (Raleigh, NC); Pepsi Center (Denver)
March 18, 20	First/Second Rounds	Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY); Scottrade Center (St. Louis); Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, OK); Spokane Arena (Spokane, WA)
March 24, 26	West Regional (Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight)	Honda Center (Anaheim, CA)
March 24, 26	South Regional (Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight)	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, KY)
March 25, 27	Midwest Regional (Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight)	United Center (Chicago)
March 25, 27	East Regional (Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight)	Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
April 2	Final Four (Semifinals)	NRG Stadium (Houston)
April 4	Championship Game	NRG Stadium (Houston)

With so much of the college season already in the books, the contenders for the No. 1 seeds are down to a few teams. There still might be a few late twists in the drama that upend the current power structure, but the teams clustered at the top of the Week 17 Associated Press poll and the NCAA RPI are good bets to earn top billing. Only four can earn that distinct honor.

Here's a prediction for which teams might be the first to hear their names called on March 13, aka Selection Sunday.


East: Villanova

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

A 90-83 loss to Big East-rival Xavier on Wednesday dropped Villanova from No. 1 to No. 3 in the latest AP poll. It was a tough game, and one that leveled the two teams at one win apiece against each other this season.

It's always tough to lose to a rival, especially so late in the season, but Xavier is good enough and 'Nova's overall body of work is so impressive that it shouldn't do much to impede it from snagging a No. 1 seed.

Villanova did well to rebound from the loss with an 89-79 road win over Marquette. Four Wildcats starters scored in double figures. Forward Daniel Ochefu made up for a quiet night against Xavier, with 18 points and 12 boards against the Golden Eagles.

"We couldn't dwell on the past," Ochefu said, per ESPN.com. "Everybody ... did a good job of making sure we moved on to our next challenge."

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The win improved Villanova's conference record to 14-2. The Big East regular-season title is well within reach for coach Jay Wright's squad. The Wildcats close out the regular season with home games against lowly DePaul and middling Georgetown. After that, it's the Big East tournament, where they are guaranteed the top seed thanks to Xavier's shock loss to Seton Hall on Sunday, per CBSSports.com.

Should Xavier pip Villanova in the likely Big East conference title matchup, it could perhaps allow both teams a No. 1 seed. A loss to either DePaul or Georgetown would almost certainly doom Villanova to a No. 2 seed or worse, considering other teams are surging.

However, the pick here is for 'Nova to close out the season strong and fare better than Xavier in the conference tourney, thus securing a top seed in the NCAA tournament. 

Midwest: Kansas

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

No reason to doubt Kansas at this point. The AP's choice for No. 1 in its latest poll is certainly looking the part of the best team in the land.

The Jayhawks won their 10th game in a row and clinched their 12th straight Big 12 regular-season title on Monday, embarrassing No. 23 Texas 86-56 in Austin. Senior forward Perry Ellis notched 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor, while junior forward Landen Lucas continued his late-season surge with eight points, eight boards and five blocks.

The Kansas City Star's Jesse Newell noted the blocks came early and often: 

Head coach Bill Self has the team running at peak efficiency at both ends of the floor. Kansas has held its last five opponents under 70 points. On offense, it's not just Ellis and Lucas doing work down low that's propelling the team. Kansas is still draining threes at a prolific and efficient clip, making 11 of 16 shots from downtown against Texas.

In addition to the strong play of Lucas, junior guard Frank Mason III has also stepped up his game as of late, per Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore:

Mason notched 14 points and six assists against Texas.

The Jayhawks are tops in the nation in RPI, per NCAA.com. Their latest win streak includes five wins over ranked teams, and they could add another to the ledger when they play No. 21 Iowa State at home on Saturday. This team is playing the best basketball in the nation and is well-equipped for a deep tournament run. Go ahead and pen them in for a No. 1 seed.

West: Michigan State

Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Michigan State is finishing the regular season as hot as it started it. The Spartans jumped out to a 13-game win streak to begin the 2015-16 campaign, but a loss to Iowa on Dec. 29 ended that ride, and then three straight losses in mid-January put them on the back burner, at least in terms of the national conversation. 

However, the Spartans are back to laying waste to the competition, winning eight of their last nine games. Three of those wins have come by at least 30 points, including the latest victory, an 88-57 beatdown of Penn State on Sunday. The only blemish in this span was an 82-81 overtime road loss to Purdue, ranked No. 18 by the AP at the time.

Senior guard Denzel Valentine has keyed the resurgence. He's averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 8.4 assists over his last nine games. Coach Tom Izzo almost assuredly had his talismanic guard in mind when citing leadership as one of two qualities sparking the team.

Al Goldis/Associated Press

"I think we've got both leaders and learners," Izzo said on Monday, per MLive.com's Kyle Austin. "Sometimes you're either a great leader or you better be a great follower. And I think some of those young guys are a lot better followers than you would think."

Even with all of these impressive victories piling up at the end of the season, a No. 1 seed is in no way a guarantee for Izzo's team.

Michigan State is way down at No. 14 in the RPI, per NCAA.com, and does have disappointing losses to Wisconsin and Nebraska staining the resume (though the loss to the Badgers doesn't look nearly as bad considering that team's improved play). Deserving teams like Xavier, Miami, Oklahoma and others are still in the mix. 

However, this run of dominance is going to be difficult to ignore on Selection Sunday, especially if the Spartans close out the regular season with big wins over Rutgers and Ohio State. 

If they can grab a share of the regular-season title with Indiana and power through the Big Ten conference tournament, the Spartans should snag a No. 1 seed. Additional late blips from Xavier and Oklahoma would also help the Spartans' case considerably.

South: Virginia

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Oklahoma and Miami are still strong contenders to grab a No. 1 seed, but the pick here goes to the Virginia Cavaliers, who picked up a big 79-74 win over No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday to bounce back from a gut-punch 64-61 loss to the Hurricanes on Feb. 22. 

Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon was huge for the Cavaliers in the game, racking up 26 points, six boards, three assists and two steals. He's scored at least 22 in each of his last three games and is providing plenty of offense to supplement the stifling team defense and grinding pace of play. 

"He's been terrific most all of conference play," said head coach Tony Bennett after the UNC game, per Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller. "Really, all of his career, I should say. He was efficient as ever. Made the tough plays. ... He even did his traditional yawn before tipoff just to let us know that he was steady."

Virginia has an impressive overall resume on the season, with four wins over teams currently in the Associated Press Top 10. 

Virginia is ranked No. 3 in RPI, No. 4 in the AP poll—a minor slip from No. 3 in Week 16—and has a chance to put an impressive cap on the season with wins over Clemson and No. 11 Louisville. Virginia had no problem dusting off the Cardinals 63-47 on the road on Jan. 30, so expect it to reassert its dominance to close out the regular season.

A strong run in the ACC tournament seems likely for Virginia, who can count on Brogdon to supply the buckets in the big moments.