NCAA Bracket 2017: Forecasting Potentially Epic First-Round Matchups

Everyone loves chaos on the opening two days of March Madness, so the focus is usually on games between the higher seeds and lower seeds if the latter is keeping it close (or winning) as the game progresses.

However, the games between the middle seeds prove to be the best contests year over year. They could also feature teams that make deep runs in the tournament, burning tens of thousands of brackets in the process.

Take No. 8 Butler's matchup with No. 9 Old Dominion in 2011, for example. Bulldogs forward Matt Howard hit a layup at the buzzer to give his team a 60-58 win. That shot propelled the Bulldogs to a second consecutive run to the national title game, as Butler upset No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in the next round before beating Wisconsin, Florida and VCU.

The first-round matchups won't be revealed until Sunday, March 12, but here are some games that have the chance to be classics. They could also feature teams who could spring an upset or two in March.

For this article, we'll use ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's latest projections, picking three games that fit these bills the best.

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

No. 8 Wichita State vs. No. 9 Arkansas

Two teams with a combined 52 wins (and counting) would face off in the first round. Wichita State is 29-4 as of this writing and has won 14 straight leading into Sunday's Mountain Valley Conference championship game. Arkansas is 23-8 and has won six of its last seven.

The Shockers, who rank 11th in the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings, somehow haven't missed a beat despite losing guards Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet to the NBA. That's in large part due to a deep and balanced 10-man rotation. All 10 players average at least 12.4 minutes per game, and the scoring is balanced as well, with six players putting up between 7.4 and 11.7 points a game.

Their only losses are to teams that will (or most likely) make the NCAA tournament: Louisville, Arkansas, Michigan State and Illinois State.

Arkansas is also a balanced and deep team. Four players average between 12 and 15 points per game, with senior guard Dusty Hannahs leading the Hogs with 14.6 a night. Nine players also average at least 11 minutes a game.

This would be a great contest, with a winner having a shot at knocking off a No. 1 seed in the next round.

No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 Seton Hall

Two of the more fun players in the nation to watch would face off in the first round.

In one corner, we have Terrapins junior guard Melo Trimble. When he's hot, he can almost single-handedly win games, which was the case when he dropped 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting in a 74-64 win over Northwestern.

He also just hit a dagger three Saturday against Michigan State with under a second remaining, giving the Terps a 63-60 victory:

On the Pirates' side, junior forward Angel Delgado is a double-double machine, posting 15.7 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He's basically the Big East's version of Purdue big man Caleb Swanigan, who puts up 18.6 points and 12.5 boards a game.

College basketball analyst Jon Rothstein summed up Delgado's typical stat line perfectly, referencing how often Seinfeld is still on cable in syndication:

Seton Hall just knocked off No. 13 Butler in Indianapolis to seal an NCAA tournament berth, so it is flying high right now after its biggest win of the season.

Trimble and Delgado provide matchup problems for nearly every team in the nation, so it's conceivable that they could lead their teams in the second weekend of play.

No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech

Northwestern has failed to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament, which began in 1939, even one time since its inception.

That won't be the case this year as the Wildcats sealed a bid March 1 with a buzzer-beating win over Michigan.

Now, it will be interesting to see how Northwestern fares in its first tournament appearance. The Wildcats are a well-coached team led by Chris Collins, the longtime Duke assistant and son of former NBA player and head coach Doug Collins. They've beaten tough opponents, winning four games against teams ranked in the top 50 of the Ratings Percentage Index, per ESPN.

Virginia Tech finished 10-8 in a very tough ACC this season. The Hokies also posted some impressive wins, beating Michigan, Duke and Virginia, the latter of which was in two overtimes.

The Hokies have six players who average at least nine points per game, led by senior forward Zach LeDay with 15.6. Sweet-shooting senior guard Seth Allen hits on 55.2 percent of his shots, including 46.5 percent from deep. As a team, the Hokies shoot 49.2 percent from the field and over 40 percent from distance.

If Northwestern or Virginia Tech gets hot from beyond the arc, they too could advance to the second weekend of play.