March Madness 2016: Tournament Dates, Schedule and Early Favorites

March Madness has officially kicked off, with five teams clinching NCAA tournament bids as of Monday, including the Yale Bulldogs for the first time since 1962 and the Northern Iowa Panthers, who punched their ticket with a buzzer-beating win in the Missouri Valley tournament.

The bracket will be officially released on Sunday, and the tournament kicks off with two First Four games on March 15. 

Here's a look at the full schedule as well as a breakdown of the early favorites to cut down the nets in Houston, per Odds Shark:

Date	Round	Location(s)
March 15, 16	First Four	UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
March 17, 19	First/Second Rounds	Dunkin Donuts Center (Providence, R.I.); Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa); PNC Arena (Raleigh, N.C.); Pepsi Center (Denver)
March 18, 20	First/Second Rounds	Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Scottrade Center (St. Louis); Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City); Spokane Arena (Spokane, Wash.)
March 24, 26	West Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
March 24, 26	South Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
March 25, 27	Midwest Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	United Center (Chicago)
March 25, 27	East Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
April 2	Final Four (Semifinals)	NRG Stadium (Houston)
April 4	Championship Game	NRG Stadium (Houston)

Kentucky Wildcats (Plus-1000)

Ron Irby/Associated Press

The No. 22 Wildcats may not seem like a favorite to win, but they have two characteristics of a winning team: great coaching and future NBA players.

In six previous seasons as head coach in Lexington, John Calipari has made a trip to the Final Four at the end of the season four times, and his team won the 2012 national championship.

Sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis has played at another level the past month and is coming off a 14-point, 14-assist performance on Saturday in a victory over the LSU Tigers.

He is one of three Wildcats projected to be taken in the 2016 NBA draft, per NBADraftNet.com, and when mixed with upper-class talent, it's a deadly combination come tournament time.

Kentucky is currently projected as a No. 4 seed by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, which is high compared to the No. 8 seed it received in 2014 when Calipari took the Wildcats to the Final Four.

North Carolina Tar Heels (Plus-900)

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North Carolina was No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, and despite currently sitting at No. 8, it looks to be a championship contender.

The Tar Heels will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament for the 25th time, per WNCN of Greensboro, North Carolina, and all six of their losses have been by six points or less.

However, CBS Sports' Seth Davis pointed out that UNC had the easiest road of all its conference brethren:

While freshman talent can take you far, senior leadership should not be overlooked come tournament time. The Tar Heels have two senior leaders in point guard Marcus Paige and forward Brice Johnson, who can carry the teams on their backs.

Paige has struggled a bit down the stretch, but he does have a 30-point game on his resume this season, while Johnson averages a double-double and had 18 points and 21 rebounds on Saturday in a win over the Duke Blue Devils.

Head coach Roy Williams brings tournament experience with his two national championships, and the 'Heels look poised to make a deep run.

Michigan State Spartans (Plus-500)

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The Spartans are another team that reached No. 1 this season after going undefeated in the nonconference season.

After a three-game losing streak early in the Big Ten season, Michigan State has run off wins in 10 of its last 11 games. Another super senior, Denzel Valentine, is up for player of the year honors after averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.

Dan Dakich of ESPN had high praise for Valentine on Sunday:

Fellow seniors Matt Costello (10.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Bryn Forbes (15.1 ppg) play strong supporting roles to Valentine under future Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

Izzo has led the Spartans to seven Final Fours, including last season, and looks to have the talent to do it once again.

Kansas Jayhawks (Plus-500)

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While the Tar Heels and Spartans have reached No. 1 this season, the Jayhawks are there now—and for good reason.

Bill Self's squad has won 11 games in a row and now 12 straight Big 12 Conference titles. It did so with the conference ranked No. 1 in the RPI, and by two games.

The Jayhawks also have 14 Top 50 RPI victories, while the next-closest squad has just 10, per Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com.

In other words, this team, led by senior forward Perry Ellis and strong point guard play from Devonte' Graham and Frank Mason III, has separated itself from the rest of the pack.

Of course, they call it March Madness for a reason, and there is no guarantee the Jayhawks will win the title even if they get the No. 1 overall seed.

However, if they do pull it out, it will be the program's fourth national title, and the second since 2008.