NCAA Basketball Tournament 2017: Predictions for Bracket-Busting Sleeper Teams

Once an underdog wins, the NCAA Tournament officially turns into March Madness.

Without fail, every year we start to tear our brackets after a lower seed earns a victory over a favored opponent. It's why the referees roll out the basketball and officiate the games.

One hot hand can change the contest. Last year, Middle Tennessee, a No. 15 seed, knocked off Michigan State, who looked like a Final Four team.

Somehow, Wichita State continues to bust brackets as a lower seed. At this point, we should expect this program to live up to its mascot name, the Shockers, and steal one game in the tournament with a double-digit ranking.

This year, we'll go beyond the obvious and highlight smaller programs that we shouldn't overlook in the opening round.

Which small schools and underdogs have the best chance at pulling off upsets?

Iona Gaels

Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Region: Midwest 

Seed: 14 

Round 1 Opponent: Oregon 

Projected Round 2 Opponent: Creighton

We're starting off bold with a No. 14 seed over No. 3 Oregon, who just played in a tight Pac-12 title game. Keep in mind, the Ducks lost forward Chris Boucher for the tournament due to a torn ACL.

Boucher's defensive prowess made the Ducks a contender. Junior forward Jordan Bell remains an asset on both sides of the court, but how long can the Ducks rely on him to defend against constant drives through the lane? Iona's best player, Jordan Washington, doesn't shoot three-pointers, but he's a high-percentage scorer who offensively operates near the rim. 

Additionally, Jon Severe and E.J. Crawford shoot 43 percent or more from three-point range. Someone other than Washington should be able to crash the boards to create and deny second-chance scoring opportunities.

USA Today Sports national college basketball reporter Nicole Auerbach also sees Iona as a threat in the opening round: 

Guard Dillon Brooks and Bell will carry more of the load, but the Gaels have a bruiser on the interior and enough three-point shooters to steal at least one victory.

Princeton

Conference: Ivy League Conference

Region: West

Seed: 12

Round 1 Opponent: Notre Dame

Projected Round 2 Opponent: West Virginia

Princeton hasn't lost a game since December 20. Most times, we erroneously write off the Ivy League schools without examining their history, as a conference, in the NCAA tournament. Last year, No. 12 Yale upset No. 5 Baylor and kept the score close against Duke in the following round.

It's not uncommon for Ivy League programs to pull off significant upsets, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Now, the Tigers will have an opportunity to follow Yale's footsteps in the No. 12 slot. Similar to Oregon, Notre Dame comes off a conference tournament loss and may overlook an underdog. Princeton's solid perimeter defense should be able to force V.J. Beachem and Matt Farrell away from the three-point line.

In return, Tigers guard Devin Cannady must fire back from three-point range with volume. He's made at least three triples in four of the last five games. A higher final score puts more pressure on Notre Dame's shorter rotation.

Most importantly, Princeton can't allow Notre Dame's best rebounder Bonzie Colson to dominate the paint. He's capable of taking over a basketball game as a force near the basket.

Marquette

Conference: Big East

Region: East

Seed: 10 

Round 1 Opponent: South Carolina

Projected Round 2 Opponent: Duke

Marquette has more buzz than the two programs above and is primed to win at least one game as a lower seed. Before Selection Sunday, SI.com's Chris Johnson warned us all about the Golden Eagles.

"Marquette roasts opposing defenses by spreading the floor with three or four snipers around primary big men Luke Fischer and Matt Heldt. If the Golden Eagles get hot, they're really hard to beat," said Johnson.

South Carolina's ball movement often looks stagnant. No one on the roster averages three assists per contest. The Golden Eagles should consider a double team effort on Gamecocks senior guard Sindarius Thornwell. If he's constantly passing the ball to avoid traffic, South Carolina's offense will sputter as other players try to find their shot. 

PJ Dozier and Duane Notice list as the secondary scorers on the Gamecocks roster, but they're largely inefficient when shooting from distance. They're both converting less than 34 percent of their three-point attempts. 

The Golden Eagles also struggle with ball movement, but they're scoring tendencies show more balance than the opponent. For Marquette, guard Markus Howard shoots a staggering 54 percent from three-point land. Jajuan Johnson also scores with efficiency, as he logged a 47 percent field-goal percentage for the season.

The secondary scorers will decide this matchup. Fortunately for Marquette, their roster has a slightly deeper rotation of contributors on both ends of the court.

Stats provided by Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.