Selection Sunday 2017: Printable NCAA Tournament Bracket and Upset Picks

The discussion going into the majority of the conference tournaments was that the Villanova Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, North Carolina Tar Heels and Gonzaga Bulldogs would end up with the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

While some of the talking heads on television had some issues with the Tar Heels holding on to their position over the Duke Blue Devils, that's just what the tournament committee decided. The Wildcats, Jayhawks, Tar Heels and Zags go into the 68-team NCAA tournament as the top seeds.

Now that all the slots have been filled, it's time to fill out the brackets and attempt to come up with the eventual national champions. That's an important task, but the first thing we have to do is look at the bracket sheet and come up with the major upsets that are likely to happen in the first.

There should be upsets in every region, and we see four opportunities to go with lower seeds over higher seeds. (For the purpose of this story, we are not selecting point-spread upsets, just lower seeds beating higher seeds.)

Click here for B/R's printable bracket.

The seeds should hold in the East Region for every matchup but one. Look for the No. 12 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks to get the best of the No. 5 Virginia Cavaliers.

The Seahawks went 29-5 in winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship, and sophomore guard C.J. Bryce leads them, averaging 17.6 points per game and connecting on 49.1 percent of his shots from the field.

Senior guard Chris Flemmings provides the other half of the Seahawks' 1-2 punch, as he is contributing 15.8 points per night.

Head coach Kevin Keatts has a strong offensive team, averaging 85.2 points per game, and that ability to put big numbers on the scoreboard is going to be an issue for Virginia.

It's hard to believe in a strong team from the CAA, but if UNC-Wilmington can get off to a decent start and make the Cavs play from behind, the Seahawks should be able to pick up the pace and gain their second all-time NCAA tournament victory.

The Cavs had a 22-10 record this season and finished fifth in the ACC. Senior guard London Perrantes led the team with an average of 12.5 points per game, but he shot 41.3 percent from the field. None of the other Virginia starters average in double figures.

That does not mean Virginia will go meekly. Head coach Tony Bennett has put together a tough team that ranks first in defensive efficiency, per ESPN Insider's Matt Martucci.

Virginia will make every attempt to throttle the UNC-Wilmington offense, but the Seahawks will find a way to come up with the upset.

In the West Region, the 11th-seeded Xavier Musketeers should be able to get the best of the sixth-seeded Maryland Terrapins. If this upset takes place, it would be excellent news for Big East supporters, while the Big Ten would absorb a heavy blow.

Xavier finished the season with a 21-13 record and finished seventh in the Big East. However, the Musketeers seemed to find themselves in the Big East tournament when they beat DePaul and Butler before suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of Creighton.

Guard Trevon Bluiett is averaging a team-high 18.1 points per game and is also coming down with 5.8 rebounds per night. Guard J.P. Macura is right behind with an average of 14.5 points per game.

Xavier is a hard-working team that will hit the boards relentlessly, as it finished with a plus-7.0 advantage in rebounds during the regular season. If it can keep turnovers to a minimum, it will scratch and claw to stay in the game against the Terps.

Maryland was in a great position to win the Big Ten tournament last week because the tournament was in its backyard in Washington D.C. However, Melo Trimble and his teammates could not get it going against Northwestern and suffered a key defeat.

If the Terps couldn't win close to home, how will they do in Orlando, Florida? It will be one-and-done for Maryland.

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

If the Terps are one Big Ten team that is going to go down, we see the ninth-seeded Michigan State Spartans as a team capable of getting the victory over the eighth-seeded Miami Hurricanes when the two teams get together in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while playing in the Midwest Region.

The Spartans are making their 20th straight appearance in the tournament, and unlike last year, they come in with very few expectations.

Michigan State finished the season with a 19-14 record and finished fifth in the Big Ten. The Spartans played their usual nasty schedule, and head coach Tom Izzo's team absorbed a number of tough defeats.

While their record is anything but gaudy, the Spartans have been steeled by the competition, and they come in ready to play winning basketball. Miles Bridges is one of the most talented freshman players in the nation, and he is averaging a team-leading 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

The Hurricanes were 21-11 in the powerful ACC, and they finished seventh in the conference. They have a solid 1-2 punch that includes senior guard Davon Reed and junior guard Ja'Quan Newton. Those two are averaging 15.0 and 13.4 points per game, respectively.

Michigan State suffered a painful first-round defeat last year when many expected it to make a Final Four appearance. Since it struggled most of the year and is a very young team, look for it to play unencumbered basketball and rise up to the tournament challenge. It will beat the Hurricanes and move on to the second round where it will face top-seeded Kansas.

We are not saying the Spartans will get the best of the Jayhawks, but they will fight for 40 minutes and give Kansas and head coach Bill Self a major fight.

Look for the 10th-seeded Wichita State Shockers to get the best of the seventh-seeded Dayton Flyers in the South Region. These two teams will meet in Indianapolis, and the Shockers will flex their muscles and get rid of the Flyers with a powerful effort.

Wichita State had a magnificent 30-4 record while winning the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and conference tournament titles.

Head coach Gregg Marshall knows how to prepare his team for the tournament, and he has a balanced lineup that includes forward Markis McDuffie, who is averaging 11.8 points per game, and guard Landry Shamet, who has an 11.1-points-per-game mark.

Those totals may not be overly impressive, but the Shockers play brilliant defense and they go 11 deep. Opponents are shooting 37.8 percent against them, and they can choke off the best offensive attacks.

The Flyers finished with a 24-7 record and won the regular-season Atlantic 10 title, but they could not win the conference tournament.

Forward Charles Cooke is averaging 16.1 points per game and is their best player, but Dayton may not have the consistency needed to beat the defensively proficient Shockers.