March Madness 2016: Men's Bracket Release Info, Full Tournament Schedule

March Madness is in full swing with conference tournaments occupying the college basketball schedule the rest of the week.

The NCAA tournament begins next week, but before you can fill out your bracket, the field of 68 needs to be revealed. Twelve teams have already punched their tickets to the Big Dance by winning their conference tournaments, while another 20 will do so by Sunday.

Date	Time	TV
Sunday, March 13	5:30 p.m. ET	CBS

The four regions will be announced throughout the two-hour program, with in-depth analysis on CBS and other stations following the program.

There is plenty of work left to do for each team trying to fight its way into the tournament, but according to Stewart Mandel of FoxSports.com, the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are the only team with a lock on a No. 1 seed. As far back as March 1, Mandel penciled in the Jayhawks on the top line.

"With Selection Sunday fast approaching, the No. 1 seed line remains as volatile as it's been all season," he wrote. "Torrid Kansas…is the only surefire bet."

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the North Carolina Tar Heels, Villanova Wildcats and Virginia Cavaliers joining Kansas as No. 1 seeds in the tournament that begins with two First Four games on Tuesday.

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)

The Jayhawks, led by first-team All-Big 12 forward Perry Ellis, have the inside track on the No. 1 overall seed. However, outside of a so-called easier path to the Final Four, it doesn't mean much. Since 2005, including the then-undefeated Kentucky Wildcats last year, eight of the 11 overall No. 1 seeds did not win the national championship, per Chris Gehring of SportingNews.com.

Year	Team	Result
2005	Illinois	Runner-up
2006	Duke	Lost in Sweet 16
2007	Florida	Won National Title
2008	Memphis	Runner-up (vacated)
2009	Louisville	Lost in Elite Eight
2010	Kansas	Lost in Second Round
2011	Ohio State	Lost in Sweet 16
2012	Kentucky	Won National Title
2013	Louisville	Won National Title
2014	Florida	Lost in Final Four
2015	Kentucky	Lost in Final Four

Most glaring in the table is the fact that Kansas is the only team not to advance to the second weekend. Of course, that year's team had nothing to do with this one, but the table proves being handed the top seed only means something on paper.

That being said, the Jayhawks are clearly the best team right now. At 27-4—and ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and RPI—they have a leg up on the rest of the field. Their 14 top-50 RPI wins are four more than any other team in the country, and the Jayhawks have a grand total of one loss to a team worse than No. 19 in the RPI.

Ellis averages 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while their best player of late is junior power forward Landen Lucas—who wasn't even in the starting lineup until January 30.

Guards Frank Mason III, Wayne Selden Jr. and Devonte' Graham all average double-figure points, and as a team, Kansas ranks third in the country in three-point shooting at 42.9 percent.

The Jayhawks also have guys like senior forward Jamari Traylor, who can come off the bench and provide a spark like this, via ESPN College BBall:

"

"Oh myyy gooooodness! He went to the 3rd floor!" https://t.co/JfvQ3Hda8q

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 1, 2016"

According to Odds Shark, the Jayhawks are tied with the Michigan State Spartans as the favorite to win the national championship at 5-1. The biggest challengers include North Carolina (9-1), the Kentucky Wildcats (10-1), the Oklahoma Sooners (12-1) and Villanova (12-1).