NCAA Tournament Bracket 2017: Predictions, Odds, Printable Bracket and More

The Division I men's basketball field is set with No. 1 seeds Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga. And NCAA tournament brackets all over America are under assault from pens, pencils and keyboards.

Filling out a winner takes skill, knowledge, time, or...actually, just luck. Lots of luck. But informed luck is better than blind luck. And you can find the best information here.

So lock yourself in the basement, print out that bracket (found below) and get to work like SB Nation's Cousin Kof:

"

This gonna be me if you bother me while I'm filling out my bracket #selectionsunday pic.twitter.com/punGXUa4Ey

— Cousin Kof (@KofieYeboah) March 12, 2017"

Printable Bracket

East Regional

Top Seed: Villanova

It wasn't much of a surprise when Villanova was the first team announced on Sunday. The defending champion Villanova Wildcats finished the season at 31-3, including a run all the way through the Big East tournament.

And the three top scorers on this team—Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Kris Jenkins—have all been through this before. 

Hart, whom Villanova coach Jay Wright called "the best, most complete player in the country," per Steve Serby of the New York Post, will be particularly important to the Wildcats' quest for a second straight title.

The John Wooden Award finalist led the Big East in scoring this season at 18.9 points per game.

Upset Alert: UNC-Wilmington

From the moment the matchup was revealed, Virginia and UNC-Wilmington was a hot upset pick, per Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com:

It's not hard to see why. The 29-5 Seahawks were third in the nation in offensive rating this season, scoring 118.3 points per 100 possessions, per Sports Reference.

That attack will be tested against Virginia, which has the best adjusted defensive rating in Division I, according to KenPom.com. Unstoppable force, immovable object and all...

Midwest Regional

"

Kansas leads the way in the Midwest @buick pic.twitter.com/fVdM05AFx5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2017"

Top Seed: Kansas

Kansas locking up a top seed in the NCAA tournament almost feels like an annual tradition at this point. And having NBA-caliber players on the roster isn't unusual either.

Freshman wing Josh Jackson, a potential top-three pick in this summer's NBA draft, has had arguably a better year with Kansas than former No. 1 Andrew Wiggins:

Player	Season	PTS	TS%	PER	BPM	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%
Andrew Wiggins	2013-14	17.1	.563	21.4	8.5	10.4	9.2	2.1	3.1
Josh Jackson	2016-17	16.4	.555	24	10.5	12.9	18.9	3	3.4

Stopping Jackson will be a nightmare for the rest of the teams in the Midwest Region.

Upset Alert: Wichita State

Poor Dayton found itself as a No. 7 seed, only to have to play one of the best No. 10s in tournament history, per Prediction Machine:

It was college basketball fans who were shocked on Sunday, when the 30-4 Shockers were revealed in the spot they were in.

The Flyers are going to have a whale of a time trying to stop the balanced Wichita State attack led by Markis McDuffie, Landry Shamet and Darral Willis Jr. 

South Regional

Top Seed: North Carolina

After falling to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, North Carolina was the only No. 1 seed to surprise some people on Selection Sunday. 

The Tar Heels will now have some work to do to prove that selection correct and exact revenge for last season's crushing loss to Villanova in the title game, as North Carolina's Justin Jackson wrote in The Players' Tribune:

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For us, that game — that loss — was so important … because it wasn't just any old loss. If you play a sport, you win games and you lose games. And then you move on. But that loss — losing in that way, in the final game, right after Marcus’s game-tying three — is burned into us. I hope that it’s toughened us up. I think it has. And I know this for sure: It’s a daily reminder that Tar Heel Nation has unfinished business. We want a championship.

"

Upset Alert: Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee was one of the first teams to catch the eye of Turner Sports' Charles Barkley, per Nashville's 102.5 FM:

The Blue Raiders feature an inside-out attack led by JaCorey Williams (17.3 points) and Giddy Potts (39.2 three-point percentage) and top their first-round matchup in a few key stats.

Minnesota trails Middle Tennessee by significant margins in offensive rating, true shooting percentage and total rebounding percentage, per Sports Reference.

West Regional

Top Seed: Gonzaga

The final No. 1 seed went to tournament regular Gonzaga, which enters the madness this season with the second-best offense in the country.

The Bulldogs put up a whopping 119.3 points per 100 possessions, per Sports Reference. And they score in a variety of ways.

Five Zags are averaging double figures, and a sixth is at 8.4 points. They can hurt you from the outside with Nigel Williams-Goss and Jordan Mathews or pound it inside with 7'1" Przemek Karnowski.

Upset Alert: Florida Gulf Coast

Florida Gulf Coast, which made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013 as a No. 15 seed, enters this year's dance at No. 14.

The resurrection of Dunk City may be imminent, as shown in this highlight from Sports Illustrated:

Jams aside, the Eagles look strong behind the explosive scoring ability of guard Brandon Goodwin, who averages 18.2 points and has a true shooting percentage of .624, per Sports Reference.

Tournament Odds

As you're filling out your bracket, bear the early analysis from Vegas in mind. OddsShark's Jon Campbell provided them on Twitter:

And as you embark on yet another year of March Madness prognostication, may the odds be ever in your favor.