March Madness Bracket 2016: Printable 2016 NCAA Tournament Page and Predictions

March Madness tips off Tuesday with the First Four, and the real action gets underway Thursday with 16 games in the first round. 

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Here is a look at the first-round schedule.

Thursday, March 17	Region	Time (ET)	TV	Location
Friday, March 18	Region	Time	TV	Location
No. 13 UNC Wilmington vs. Duke	West	12:15 p.m.	CBS	Providence, R.I.
No. 9 Butler vs. No. 8 Texas Tech	Midwest	12:40 p.m.	TruTV	Raleigh, N.C.
No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Colorado	South	1:30 p.m.	TNT	Des Moines, Iowa
No. 13 Iona vs. No. 4 Iowa State	Midwest	2 p.m.	TBS	Denver
No. 12 Yale vs. No. 5 Baylor	West	2:45 p.m.	CBS	Providence, R.I.
No. 16 Hampton vs. No. 1 Virginia	Midwest	3:10 p.m.	TruTV	Raleigh, N.C.
No. 16 Austin Peay vs. No. 1 Kansas	South	4 p.m.	TNT	Des Moines, Iowa
No. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock vs. No. 5 Purdue	Midwest	4:30 p.m.	TBS	Denver
No. 14 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Miami	South	6:50 p.m.	TNT	Providence, R.I.
No. 12 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 Indiana	East	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Des Moines, Iowa
TBD vs. No. 1 North Carolina	East	7:20 p.m.	TBS	Raleigh, N.C.
No. 14 Fresno State vs. No. 3 Utah	Midwest	7:27 p.m.	TruTV	Denver
No. 11 TBD vs. No. 6 Arizona	South	9:20 p.m.	TNT	Providence, R.I.
No. 13 Stony Brook vs. No. 4 Kentucky	East	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Des Moines, Iowa
No. 9 Providence vs. No. 8 USC	East	9:50 p.m.	TBS	Raleigh, N.C.
No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 Seton Hall	Midwest	9:57 p.m.	TruTV	Denver
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 7 Dayton	Midwest	12:15 p.m.	CBS	St. Louis
No. 15 UNC Asheville vs. No. 2 Villanova	South	12:40 p.m.	TruTV	Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 10 VCU vs. No. 7 Oregon State	West	1:30 p.m.	TNT	Oklahoma City
No. 13 Hawaii vs. No. 4 California	South	2 p.m.	TBS	Spokane, Wash.
No. 15 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 2 Michigan State	Midwest	2:45 p.m.	CBS	St. Louis
No. 10 Temple vs. No. 7 Iowa	South	3:10 p.m.	TruTV	Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 15 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Oklahoma	West	4 p.m.	TNT	Oklahoma City
No. 12 South Dakota State vs. No. 5 Maryland	South	4:30 p.m.	TBS	Spokane, Wash.
No. 10 Pittsburgh vs. No. 7 Wisconsin	East	6:50 p.m.	TNT	St. Louis
No. 14 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 3 West Virginia	East	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 14 Green Bay vs. No. 3 Texas A&M	West	7:20 p.m.	TBS	Oklahoma City
No. 16 TBD vs. No. 1 Oregon	West	7:27 p.m.	TruTV	Spokane, Wash.
No. 15 Weber State vs. No. 2 Xavier	East	9:20 p.m.	TNT	St. Louis
No. 11 TBD vs. No. 6 Notre Dame	East	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 11 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 Texas	West	9:50 p.m.	TBS	Oklahoma City
No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 8 Saint Joseph's	West	9:57 p.m.	TruTV	Spokane, Wash.

Predictions

National Champion: Michigan State Spartans

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Sans Kansas, Michigan State seemed the surest lock to earn a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance. 

Bleacher Report noted as much just after the full bracket was revealed:

But the snub is by no means fazing head coach Tom Izzo and his team.

“I don’t think I’ll look at it like a chip on the shoulder,” he said, per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press. “If I had to vote for something, I’d want [the first game] to be on Friday,” and it is against St. Louis. 

Big Ten Player of the Year Denzel Valentine added, per Rexrode: "It is what it is. The committee controls everything. … We’re just gonna do what we need to do to get to Houston."

The Spartans are right not to be overly anxious about the slight snub, as the Midwest Region isn’t necessarily overbearing. Their only true threat is top-seeded Virginia. 

If and when they reach the Final Four, the hiccups from last year shouldn’t be prevalent. This is a more seasoned team that learned from its mistakes last season and is prepared.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale agrees:

Izzo is a Final Four regular, having reached college basketball’s premier event seven times since arriving at Michigan State in 1995. But the head coach only has one title to claim, and that figures to change this April. 

Biggest Early Upset: Villanova Wildcats

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Villanova is in a gauntlet of a South Region that also features No. 1 overall seed Kansas, Connecticut, Maryland, California and Miami. 

The Wildcats are coming off a disappointing defeat to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament title game and were placed in the South bracket as opposed to the East, which is holding the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at the Wells Fargo Center in Villanova’s backyard. 

It hasn’t been the best weekend for the Wildcats. 

Just a few days ago, they were considered arguably the most consistent team in college basketball in a year where parity was paramount. 

But now their momentum has halted, and they face an incredibly difficult battle if they hope to reach their first Final Four since 2009. 

Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the Ultimate Sports Trip to four events of your choice.  And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.