NCAA Upset Predictions 2017: Cinderella Picks for March Madness Bracket

The bracket for the 2017 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship was released on Sunday, and it's time to pick your upsets. 

Determining the Cinderella teams in the tournament is the hardest task every year, but doing so can lead to victory in your bracket pool.

This year's tournament has a lack of elite teams, making it even harder to determine who will emerge as this year's bracket-busters. A case can be made for a number of deserving candidates, but here's a look at three teams you should consider prospects to emerge as this year's Cinderella.

Click here for B/R's printable bracket. 

10 Wichita State Shockers

The Wichita State Shockers' placement in the bracket will likely generate a lot of debate in the days leading up the tournament. 

According to many of the stat-based ranking systems, Wichita State is far more talented than its No. 10 seed. The Shockers finished the season ranked eighth overall by KenPom.com and 15th on ESPN's BPI.

Despite being highly regarded by the stats-based rankings, Wichita State lacked the resume to earn a higher seed from the committee. The Shockers finished the season with just three wins against Top 100 teams in the RPI.

ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan didn't hold back in his assessment of the committee's placement for Wichita State:

The Shockers have a tough road ahead of them, which will likely include a matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats if they advance to the second round. 

Despite the disappointing seed and tough draw, the Shockers should be taken seriously as a threat to bust some brackets. This is Wichita State's sixth consecutive trip to the tournament, and past experiences could give this veteran squad an edge.  

11 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

For the first time since 2010, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are headed to the tournament, led by head coach Danny Manning. 

The Demon Deacons barely squeezed into the tournament and will have to knock off the Kansas State Wildcats on Tuesday night just to advance to the full first round of action. 

The biggest knock against Wake Forest is its lack of significant wins. The Deacons were just 1-7 against teams ranked in the RPI Top 25. However, they fact they played eight games against the elite teams—many of them close matchups—should have given them the experience and confidence to win in March. 

Most notably, Wake Forest lost its three games against Duke and North Carolina, but each game was decided by a maximum of six points. 

Those close calls against the elite teams of the ACC likely helped build up some assertiveness for a relatively young team. Wake's two leading scorers, John Collins and Bryant Crawford, are just sophomores and will be playing in their first Big Dance. 

Wake Forest is coming off a win over the Louisville Cardinals, who earned a No. 2 seed, on March 1—their only RPI Top 25 victory of the season. That late-season win could help set Wake off on a tournament run. 

6 SMU Mustangs

The SMU Mustangs are one of the hottest teams in the nation, entering the tournament on a 16-game win streak. 

The Mustangs are another team seeded lower than many of the stats-based rankings would have placed them. ESPN's BPI, for example, placed SMU at 16 overall, one spot ahead of the Baylor Bears, who earned the No. 3 seed in SMU's region. 

ESPN's Chris Fallica is among those who believe SMU deserves more respect than its seed:

As Fallica noted, the committee appeared to punish SMU for not being tested enough during the season. The Mustangs went just 2-3 against the RPI Top 50. 

Despite SMU's lack of experience against elite opponents, its tournament draw gives the team an excellent shot at reaching the Sweet 16. If SMU advances to the second round, it will likely face Baylor, which closed out the season by losing four of its final seven games.