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NCAA Bracket 2017: Tips, Info and More for Top March Madness Games
March 8, 2017
Don't be that person.
You know who they are. The one who automatically slots every No. 1 seed into the Final Four...and then brags about it. Or the one who picks every upset imaginable. Or, worst of all, the one who—dun, dun, dun—leaves blanks in their bracket.
Selection Sunday is coming, friends. Now is the time to brush up on your college hoops knowledge before putting lead (or ink) to your NCAA tournament bracket.
Below are some tips and games to cross your fingers we see.
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 |
| NCAA.com | ||
More information about seeding and the schedule can be found here.
Tips
Steer clear of the 16-seeds
It's never happened. A bottom-seeded team has never knocked off a top dog in the Big Dance. Why should you expect it this year?
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Villanova Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, Gonzaga Bulldogs and North Carolina Tar Heels as his top seeds. The UCLA Bruins and Oregon Ducks figure to warrant consideration, too.
Are you really trusting the likes of North Dakota Fighting Hawks with your bracket?
The numbers say you shouldn't. Not only have the No. 16s gone winless; according to OddsShark, they've seldom kept things respectable. Since 2001, a bottom seed has stayed within 10 points just five times.
Plus, No. 1 seeds have won 20 national titles since 1985. In the past 12 seasons, eight winners have been top seeds.
Don't be afraid to predict an early upset, as those can be the sweetest to hit on. Just don't pick a No. 16 over a No. 1.
Roll with the seniors
Freshmen are definitely fun.
Everybody wants to talk about UCLA star guard Lonzo Ball nowadays, for example. But when it comes time for March Madness, hitch your wagon to the upperclassmen.
Here's what Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters after his team escaped No. 13 North Carolina-Wilmington in last year's opening round, 93-85, per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post:
You know, we have three kids who are 18 years old, so I know they may be talented, but they're 18. I heard about McDonald's All-American. We won because we had a 23-year-old: Marshall [Plumlee]. These other kids are developing players. And the NCAA, especially this season, has been old.
Two of Villanova's top three scorers, for example—Josh Hart (senior), Jalen Brunson (sophomore), Kris Jenkins (senior)—are seniors. That's the kind of team you'll want to roll with.
When scouring the bracket for potential upsets, don't undervalue experience. Underclassmen have a way of shrinking when the lights are at their brightest. It can take one of those failures to coarsen them for the next pressure-packed moment.
Here are some teams, all listed as "in" according to Lunardi, loaded with upperclassmen:
| Team | Amount of seniors | Projected seed |
| Dayton | 7 | 8 |
| Princeton | 7 | 13 |
| Butler | 6 | 3 |
| VCU | 6 | 9 |
| CBS Sports | ||
Note: CBS Sports provided a full list of teams, sortable by amount of freshman and seniors.
Of course, it's important to factor juniors, and even experienced sophomores, into the equation. But don't hesitate to trust the seniors.
Dream matchups
Kansas-Wichita State
Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet are gone, but it'll always be fun watching the "little brother" Wichita State Shockers take on the big kahunas of the Sunflower State.
Louisville-Kentucky
"The battle for the Bluegrass" is easily one of the most intense matchups in sports.
The Rick Pitino-ignited feud has seen the Kentucky Wildcats, his former employer, win four of the last five matchups over his Louisville Cardinals, including a 2012 Final Four showdown en route to a national title. According to Big Blue History, that was their first March Madness meeting since 1984.
We're due for another.
Duke-North Carolina
The North Carolina Tar Heels knocked off the Duke Blue Devils, 90-83, on Saturday. It was the latest close call in what's been an unfathomably close rivalry:
Note: Stat first appeared on SportsCenter via @ESPNStatsInfo.
There's no bigger stage than March Madness, and there's no better rivalry than Duke-UNC. Keep your fingers crossed.