March Madness 2017: Tournament Dates, Schedule and Early Favorites

We're less than a week away from Selection Sunday.

Six days, people. Six days.

While there's still much uncertainty surrounding brackets, it's clear who a few of the top dogs are heading into March Madness. Let's talk about some early favorites below.

Schedule

Event	Location	Date
Selection Sunday	N/A	March 12
First Four	Dayton, Ohio	March 14-15
First/Second	Buffalo, New York	March 16 & 18
First/Second	Milwaukee	March 16 & 18
First/Second	Orlando, Florida	March 16 & 18
First/Second	Salt Lake City	March 16 & 18
First/Second	Greenville, South Carolina	March 17 & 19
First/Second	Indianapolis	March 17 & 19
First/Second	Tulsa, Oklahoma	March 17 & 19
First/Second	Sacramento, California	March 17 & 19
Midwest Regional	Kansas City, Missouri	March 23 & 25
West Regional	San Jose, California	March 23 & 25
South Regional	Memphis, Tennessee	March 24 & 26
East Regional	New York	March 24 & 26
Final Four	Phoenix	April 1 & 3

More information about seeding and the schedule can be found here.

Favorites

Villanova

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Surprise, surprise—last year's reigning champions.

Jay Wright's Villanova Wildcats had a stranglehold on the Associated Press No. 1 ranking after jumping out to an 8-0 start. That unblemished record stretched 14 games before Nova fell to the No. 18 Butler Bulldogs, another Big East foe, four weeks later.

The Wildcats rattled off another five straight victories before succumbing to Marquette, 74-72, on the road. From there, Wright led another seven-win charge before No. 22 Butler won again.

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

That puts the Wildcats at 28-3 after Saturday's 81-55 win over the Georgetown Bulldogs. Heading into Monday, Villanova trailed only the Kansas Jayhawks in the AP Top 25 poll.

Yes, seniors Ryan Arcidiacono (thanks, Google) and Daniel Ochefu are gone. But Wright still wields a deep, experienced pool of upperclassmen including Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins, who you might remember from last year's title game:

Add in dynamic sophomores Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and freshman Donte DiVincenzo—who's also clutch—and you're looking at an ideal mixture of "we've been here before" and "I have butterflies."

It's probably unwise to put money down yet, given that it's unclear who will land in certain regions, but ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi expects the Wildcats to land a No. 1 seed. So does CBS Sports.

And, for what it's worth, OddsShark had Nova as the sixth most-likely team to win it all:

Team	Odds
Duke	+700
Gonzaga	+700
Kansas	+700
North Carolina	+900
UCLA	+900
Villanova	+1000
Kentucky	+1200
Oregon	+1200
Louisville	+1400

Note: Those odds were given on Feb. 23.

With Seton Hall lacking the firepower to pull off another upset in the Big East Tournament thanks to point guard Isaiah Whitehead's departure to the NBA, expect the Wildcats to roll smoothly toward a No. 1-seed in the Big Dance.

And from there, the Wildcats seem like one of the safest Final Four picks you can pencil in.

North Carolina

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

It wouldn't be fair to include Villanova and leave out the North Carolina Tar Heels, who were a Jenkins buzzer-beater away from forcing overtime in the national title game.

What a shame that point guard Marcus Paige's double-pump, off-balance, clutch triple with 4.7 seconds to go will get lost in the annals of history:

Unreal.

Jenkins answered on the next possession, and UNC left empty-handed. But the team, and leading scorer Justin Jackson, have moved on.

Here's what the sharpshooter told Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore:

"

I honestly don't think about it much anymore. At the time, it hurt and for a while that's all you can really think about because you can't get away from it. Every time you turn on the TV, it's 'the shot.'

For me, it was getting away for the combine and once I came back to school, I just tried to work on myself and get ready and try to change my game for this year.

"

This season, the team is 25-5 under Roy Williams, who has four double-digit scorers—two juniors, Jackson and Joel Berry II, and two seniors, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. On Saturday night, North Carolina knocked off No. 17 Duke, 90-83, at home in what was a fiery affair, as per usual.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Tar Heels give up points. They rank 128th nationally in points against (per NCAA.com). However, they put up points themselves—nobody in the ACC scores more—and they do not get bullied. No team in the country hits the glass harder than UNC; that includes on the offensive end.

Looking to avenge last year's championship loss, don't be afraid to ride the Tar Heels—projected by Lunardi as a No. 1 seed—once the brackets come out.