NCAA Bracket 2017: March Madness Schedule, Bracket Predictions for Marquee Teams

The NCAA men's basketball tournament field is loaded this year, featuring many stars that we'll see suiting up for NBA teams in the fall.

The teams are great as well, in particular the current No. 1 team in the country, Kansas, as well as the national title participants from last season, Villanova and North Carolina.

Kansas is led by potential Naismith Player of the Year Frank Mason III and Josh Jackson, who could be picked in the top three of the 2017 NBA draft.

Defending champion Villanova has come back strong with a No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press poll and a 27-3 record.

Runner-up North Carolina didn't become overwhelmed by the disappointment of last year's buzzer-beating loss, as the Tar Heels finished first in a loaded ACC this season. UNC will also finish undefeated at home if it beats Duke on Saturday.

Below you'll find the NCAA schedule (the entire bracket and matchups will not be released until Sunday, March 12) as well as some predictions for those three schools.

NCAA Tournament Schedule

Date	Round	Location
Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15	First Four	Dayton, Ohio
Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18	First/Second	Buffalo, New York
Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18	First/Second	Milwaukee
Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18	First/Second	Salt Lake City
Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18	First/Second	Orlando, Florida
Wednesday, March 17 and Friday, March 19	First/Second	Greenville, South Carolina
Wednesday, March 17 and Friday, March 19	First/Second	Indianapolis
Wednesday, March 17 and Friday, March 19	First/Second	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wednesday, March 17 and Friday, March 19	First/Second	Sacramento, California
Thursday, March 23 and Saturday, March 25	Midwest Regional	Kansas City, Missouri
Thursday, March 23 and Saturday, March 25	West Regional	San Jose, California
Friday, March 24 and Sunday, March 26	South Regional	Memphis, Tennessee
Friday, March 24 and Sunday, March 26	East Regional	New York
Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 3	Final Four	Phoenix

Source: ncaa.com

Bracket Predictions 

Villanova

If the Wildcats can win their first two games—and that's quite likely considering no No. 1 seed has ever lost to a No. 16 seed and No. 1 seeds rarely lose to No. 8 or No. 9 seeds—then they will have a massive advantage on the other three teams in the East Regional semifinals. That's because the games will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Villanova has a large student and alumni base in New York, and the Garden is only a two-hour drive from Villanova's campus, so the Wildcats will have a quasi home-court advantage.

'Nova isn't unbeatable, but it's hard to pick any team to defeat the Wildcats before the Final Four.

If the Wildcats get there, they have just as good of a chance as any team to win the national championship. Villanova has two senior leaders from the national title team in Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart, as well as two sophomores (Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges) who averaged 24 and 20.3 minutes on that team, respectively, and are having better years this season with more playing time.

The Wildcats check all the boxes, and they have a manageable path to the Final Four. Even without knowing their opponents just yet, they should be considered one of the top two title favorites at this time alongside Kansas.

North Carolina

UNC is in the same boat as Villanova. The Tar Heels have upperclassmen leaders who played big minutes on a team that went to the national championship game (in their case four: junior forward Justin Jackson, junior guard Joel Berry II, senior forward Kennedy Meeks and senior forward Isaiah Hicks) as well as some younger talent making big contributions this season (freshman forward Tony Bradley and sophomore guard Kenny Williams).

The Tar Heels are one of the best offensive teams in the country—Ken Pomeroy ranks them fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency—and just finished first in the ACC in a year where the conference could potentially land 11 teams in the NCAA tournament (ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has 10 at the moment with Georgia Tech on the outside looking in). They are also third in the Sagarin ratings.

Because of UNC's tournament experience and depth, UNC should be considered a favorite to return to the Final Four, although the Tar Heels are not invincible. They just lost an ugly game to Virginia, 53-43, which was UNC's lowest point total in a long time:

Looking at Bleacher Report bracketologist Kerry Miller's projections, No. 5 seed West Virginia could give UNC a hard time with its press defense, and so could No. 3 Arizona behind their underclassmen stars.

Ultimately, the edge goes to UNC to return to the Final Four, although not without a few close challenges along the way.

Kansas

Like Villanova, Kansas will have a huge advantage before the Final Four.

First, Kansas will likely play in Tulsa if it is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, which is the current projection. That's less than a four-hour drive from the KU campus in Lawrence.

However, what's even more convenient is that the Midwest Regional semifinals and finals will be in Kansas City, which is only a 45-minute drive away from Lawrence.

That will be a huge advantage for Kansas in the stands, as Jayhawks fans will likely fill both stadiums. Furthermore, KU will spend much less travel time on the road compared to other teams flying into town.

Otherwise, here's a mind-boggling stat: Kansas has only lost one game in regulation this year. This is despite the fact that the Jayhawks play in the Big 12, the toughest conference in men's college basketball, per the Sagarin ratings.

Behind Mason and Josh Jackson, the best tag team in all of college basketball, Kansas has vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the latest Associated Press poll, and it also clinched its 13th straight Big 12 regular season title.

The Jayhawks have played in some tough games against skilled opponents in difficult environments and have the right mix of experience and elite skill. They are the favorites to head to the national title against Villanova.