Printable NCAA Bracket 2017: Downloadable Bracket and Picks Advice

The odds of you achieving a perfect bracket are 1 out of 128 billion, per Jeff Bergen, professor of mathematics at DePaul University (h/t Nick Schwartz at For The Win).

Therefore, don't get upset when you inevitably pick six games wrong Thursday. As Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid always says, "trust the process." In other words, believe in your process, and don't be results-oriented.

Of course, someone who knows nothing about basketball will win your pool, leaving you in the dust, but you'll get there some day. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Anyway, here are three picks for this weekend as well as a bracket via NCAA.com to download and print at your convenience.

March Madness Bracket

Advance SMU to the Second Weekend

The Mustangs have won 26 of their last 27 games. SMU doesn't play in one of the elite conferences in the nation, but the American Athletic Conference is still ranked seventh per the Sagarin ratings, ahead of the Atlantic-10 and Mountain West.

SMU cruised to regular-season and conference titles this year and is one of the most distinctive teams in the nation. The Mustangs only run six deep, but everyone pitches in to do a little bit of everything. Five of the players average at least 9.8 points per game, five average at least 4.1 boards per game, and four dish at least two assists per game.

The Mustangs are facing the winner of the Providence/USC First Four game in the first round. Both teams are tough, and the Trojans beat SMU this season, but the Mustangs are hot at the right time and should advance to the next round.

Once there, the Mustangs would probably face Baylor and its star big man, Johnathan Motley. Unlike the Mustangs, Baylor is sputtering down the stretch, going 5-6 in its last 11 games. Furthermore, Baylor doesn't run as deep as SMU does—it's too centered around the exploits of Motley. For example, he's only one of two players on the team averaging over 10 points per game.

Baylor had a great season after no one outside Waco thought it would do well this season, but SMU is a buzzsaw right now and should take down a struggling Baylor squad.

Write North Carolina on the Final Four Line in Pen

Don't let UNC's semifinal loss in the ACC tournament fool you. The Tar Heels are still one of the best teams in the nation.

North Carolina also got lucky with a great draw in the South Regional this year. It's hard to see the Tar Heels losing before the Elite Eight. The teams with the best chances to give UNC a challenge are No. 4 seed Butler and No. 5 seed Minnesota, who are two good-but-not-great teams ranked No. 26 and No. 33 in the Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings.

On the other half of the regional, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 UCLA lie waiting in the wings. Both of them are tough teams with elite future NBA-level talent, but UNC is lucky in that it only has to face one of them. Meanwhile, UK and UCLA are bound to play a knockdown, drag-out game in the Sweet 16 that could drain the winner before the Elite Eight.

It all comes down to the path of least resistance, and the safe play is picking UNC because UCLA vs. UK seems like a coin flip on paper. Go with the Tar Heels to win the South.

Midwest Regional: Pick Kansas To Be the First No. 1 Seed Knocked Out

Kansas had a phenomenal season, going 28-4 and winning the Big 12 regular-season title. However, Kansas also had a bad loss to unranked TCU in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 tournament. Yes, freshman star Josh Jackson did not play due to a suspension, but the Jayhawks should have won that game anyway.

The issue for Kansas is that both the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in its Midwest Regional, Purdue and Iowa State, would present difficult matchups for the Jayhawks in the Sweet 16.

Iowa State's four-guard lineup poses a big problem for Kansas, as it did when the Cyclones beat the Jayhawks 92-89 in Allen Fieldhouse this year, snapping a 54-game home winning streak. All four of those guards are also seniors, so they have much experience playing together.

Purdue has one of the best big men in the nation in Caleb Swanigan, a sophomore center averaging 18.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. As evidenced by his assist numbers, he has a deft touch for a big man. He's a solid passer and can easily find an open man when he gets doubled, which has certainly been the case at times this season. Furthermore, unlike other big men, you can't play the "Hack-a" game, as Swanigan shoots 79.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Kansas has a big advantage in that the regional semifinals and finals will be played in Kansas City, just a short drive from campus. However, a tough matchup with either Iowa State or Purdue looms.

If you're feeling lucky, take Iowa State, which is on a roll after winning the Big 12 Championship, to go to the Sweet 16 after a classic victory over Kansas.