March Madness 2017: Tournament Schedule, Bracket Predictions for No. 1 Seeds

It's the last day of February, and while for some that's merely a harbinger of warmer weather to come, for many of us it means one thing: March Madness is almost here.

That's right; Selection Sunday, on March 12, is less than two weeks away, and soon we'll know the entire field of play for the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament.

In the meantime, however, we can still pore over the dates of the schedule, around which we'll plan our viewings and happy hours.

If you're already starting to think about your bracket, NCAA.com has you covered with some key stats and trends. For instance, did you know you're going to want to pick about six upsets within the 10-15 seeds?

All the information you need on the tournament schedule is below, as well as some predictions for which teams will end up winning the No. 1 seeds entering this year's Madness. 

Tournament Schedule

Round	Site	Date(s)
First Four	Dayton	March 14-15
First/Second	Buffalo	March 16&18
First/Second	Milwaukee	March 16&18
First/Second	Orlando	March 16&18
First/Second	Salt Lake City	March 16&18
First/Second	Greenville	March 17&19
First/Second	Indianapolis	March 17&19
First/Second	Tulsa	March 17&19
First/Second	Sacramento	March 17&19
Midwest Regional	Kansas City	March 23&25
West Regional	San Jose	March 23&25
South Regional	Memphis	March 24&26
East Regional	New York	March 24&26
Final Four	Phoenix	April 1&3

No. 1 Seed Predictions

Kansas Jayhawks

Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

The folks over at TeamRankings.com are pretty confident that the Jayhawks will be a No. 1 seed in this year's tourney; computer simulations run on Monday put Kansas' odds of such an achievement at 88 percent. 

The Jayhawks have a 26-3 record and are projected to finish the season at 27-4. Bill Self's squad risked ceding the top spot in the Associated Press poll to the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but that team's first loss of the season, which came at home at the hands of BYU, put Kansas back on top. 

Kansas clinched its 13th straight conference win with its victory over Texas. The Jayhawks have won the NCAA tournament three times, most recently in 2008, but they have had trouble making it past the Final Four in recent years. 

Per TeamRankings, Kansas has a 26.7 percent chance of making the Final Four, but things get rocky after that; the Jayhawks have only a 7.5 percent chance of winning it all. Of course, the beauty of March Madness is that these percentages will change not only over the final games of the regular season, but through the opening rounds of the tournament as well. 

Gonzaga Bulldogs

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Speaking of Gonzaga, the Bulldogs finally ended their undefeated streak on Saturday when they fell 79-71 to the BYU Cougars.

The loss doesn't endanger the Zags' chances of earning a No. 1 seed for the national championship; they are already the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and no matter how you slice it, 29-1 is a record to be proud of. 

But now there are questions about the Bulldogs' fitness to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. Never mind the fact that Gonzaga runs one of the most efficient offenses in NCAA basketball; there will still be those who see this loss as a warning of things to come. 

You might want to tune that noise out.

Sure, the Bulldogs are, well, 'dogs in the history of the tournament. But if you've watched guard Nigel Williams-Goss excel from the field (where he shoots 51 percent) or seen opponents try to grapple with the sheer size of Przemek Karnowski, you know that this team has the talent it needs to make a deep run. 

Villanova Wildcats

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

According to TeamRankings, Villanova has a 70 percent chance of earning a No. 1 seed in the tournament. 

The Wildcats have a 27-3 record and, like Gonzaga, dropped a late-season game (to Butler on Feb. 22) to help the Jayhawks rise to the top of the AP poll. 

If opponents want a blueprint to beating the Wildcats in the tournament, they need look no further than their matchups against Butler, which dealt them two of their three losses on the year. 

Butler outscored Villanova 46-37 in the second half, and the Wildcats' record at the Pavilion dropped to 45-1. 

However, there's no doubt that Jay Wright's team is a favorite to rejoice to the resounding notes of "One Shining Moment" for the second straight year. This group of seniors knows how to win. As ESPN's Dana O'Neil pointed out," in four years, Villanova has never lost back-to-back games."

Villanova has to grapple with being up against lovable underdog Gonzaga as well as perennial contender Kansas, so it's possible the Wildcats will be overlooked as March Madness enthusiasts fill out their brackets. But you can bet they'll be a No. 1 seed heading into the tourney. 

North Carolina Tar Heels

Ellen Ozier/Associated Press

In a shocking 10-point loss to Virginia on Monday night, the Tar Heels gave up their chance to win the ACC regular season title outright and will now have to win it from Duke on Saturday. 

UNC only managed to put up 43 points against Virginia, committing 12 turnovers in the first half. That provided the Cavaliers many of their opportunities to score. 

If the Tar Heels can get it done against arch-rival Duke on Saturday and clinch the conference, they shouldn't have a problem earning a No. 1 seed for the national tournament.

There are those who are smitten with the play of UCLA this season, especially after its incredible 77-72 win over Arizona on Feb. 25. However, the Bruins have three conference losses, while Oregon and Arizona each have two, of which the Ducks own the tiebreaker. 

Despite UCLA's splashy win, that will hurt it. 

If the Bruins win out, a No. 1 seed is on the table. But for now, look for the Tar Heels to beat Duke and set things right again in the ACC.