Printable NCAA Tournament Bracket 2017: Downloadable Sheet, Tips for Best Picks

Is this the year you finally win your office or family pool? Probably not, because events like No. 2 seed Duke losing to No. 15 seed Lehigh (2012) and No. 11 seed VCU going to the Final Four (2011) seemingly happen every year out of nowhere, creating mass chaos.

However, that disorder is what makes March Madness so much fun.

If the pool that you are almost certainly going to lose is old-school and only takes paper brackets, you can download a printable bracket here, via NCAA.com.

Afterward, read on for three tips when making your picks.

March Madness Bracket

Bracket Tips

First and Second Rounds: Check the Sportsbook Lines When Considering Lower Seeds

Don't assume that a higher seed is favored over a lower seed because of where it is ranked in the NCAA tournament bracket. Instead, check out the lines for the first-round games and see which team is favored to help guide your picks.

For example, No. 7 seed Dayton is playing No. 10 seed Wichita State, but the Shockers are actually favored to win that game by six points, per OddsShark. To put that spread in some context, that's nearly the same difference No. 5 seed Notre Dame is favored by (-6.5) over No. 12 seed Princeton.

Therefore, Wichita State would be a good lower seed to pick. Other lower seeds to consider include No. 11 seed Xavier (only a 1.5-point underdog to No. 6 seed Maryland), No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee (a one-point underdog to No. 5 seed Minnesota) and No. 11 seed Rhode Island (a one-point underdog to No. 6 seed Creighton).

Sweet 16 and Elite Eight: Review the Paths of Least Resistance

Villanova and Gonzaga might be the two best teams in the nation this year. The Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings and the Sagarin Ratings both have the Wildcats and Bulldogs in the top two spots.

However, they have some potential pitfalls before the regional finals.

Villanova could potentially play No. 8 seed Wisconsin (the Big Ten regular-season and conference tournament runner-up) in the second round, No. 4 seed Florida or No. 5 seed Virginia (the fourth and first-ranked teams in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Pomeroy) in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 seed Duke (the ACC champion) in the Elite Eight.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga would face a pesky team in the second round (either No. 8 seed Northwestern or No. 9 seed Vanderbilt), a very tough team in the Sweet 16 (ACC tournament runner-up Notre Dame or Big 12 regular-season and tournament runner-up West Virginia) and Pac-12 champion Arizona in the Elite Eight.

Those are quite a few landmines. If you look at the No. 1 seeds this year, they arguably have tougher paths than the No. 2 seeds. Therefore, consider taking some No. 2 seeds to make the field this year.

Final Four: Pick the Chalk

The NCAA tournament went to 64 teams in 1985. Since then, only four teams that had lower than a No. 3 seed won the national championship: No. 4 Arizona (1997), No. 6 Kansas (1988), No. 7 UConn (2014) and No. 8 Villanova (1985).

Breaking it down even further, 19 of 32 champions have been No. 1 seeds, per BracketOdds.

Play those odds and take a top-three seed. Don't get cute and pick a team like No. 6 SMU to win the title (no disrespect to the Mustangs, as I have them upsetting No. 3 Baylor in the second round).

Instead, look at the paths No. 1 through No. 3 seeds have to take, and pick the team that has the easiest road this year from the first round until the championship.