NCAA Tournament 2017: TV Schedule and Picks for 1st-Round Contests

Few events in sports feature as much drama as the first round of the NCAA tournament.

There are 32 games taking place over two days, with each of them ending a season for one of the teams. As we have seen plenty times in the past, sometimes it's a Final Four contender that falls at the hands of a team that was barely on the radar a week earlier.

It's nearly impossible to predict how each team will react to the pressure of the postseason, but here are picks and potential upsets from the round of 64 beginning Thursday.

Thursday, March 16	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
Friday, March 17	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Princeton	12:15 p.m.	CBS	Notre Dame
No. 5 Virginia vs. No. 12 UNC-Wilmington	12:40 p.m.	truTV	UNC-Wilmington
No. 4 Butler vs. No. 13 Winthrop	1:30 p.m.	TNT	Butler
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota St.	2:00 p.m.	TBS	Gonzaga
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Bucknell	2:45 p.m.	CBS	West Virginia
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 13 E. Tennessee St.	3:10 p.m.	truTV	East Tennessee St.
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Middle Tenn St.	4:00 p.m.	TNT	Minnesota
No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt	4:30 p.m.	TBS	Northwestern
No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Xavier	6:50 p.m.	TNT	Maryland
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Mt. St Mary's	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Villanova
No. 7 St. Mary's (CA) vs. No. 10 VCU	7:20 p.m.	TBS	St. Mary's
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Vermont	7:27 p.m.	truTV	Purdue
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast	9:20 p.m.	TNT	Florida State
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Virginia Tech
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota	9:50 p.m.	TBS	Arizona
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Nevada	9:57 p.m.	truTV	Iowa State
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State	12:15 p.m.	CBS	Michigan
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 New Mexico State	12:40 p.m.	truTV	Baylor
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall	1:30 p.m.	TNT	Arkansas
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona	2:00 p.m.	TBS	Oregon
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville St.	2:45 p.m.	CBS	Louisville
No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 USC	3:10 p.m.	truTV	SMU
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern	4:00 p.m.	TNT	North Carolina
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Rhode Island	4:30 p.m.	TBS	Rhode Island
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 UC Davis	6:50 p.m.	TNT	Kansas
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Wichita State	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Wichita State
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy	7:20 p.m.	TBS	Duke
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Kansas St.	7:27 p.m.	truTV	Kansas State
No. 8 Miami (FL) vs. No. 9 Michigan State	9:20 p.m.	TNT	Michigan State
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 N. Kentucky	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Kentucky
No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Marquette	9:50 p.m.	TBS	South Carolina
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Kent State	9:57 p.m.	truTV	UCLA

Potential Upsets

No. 11 Rhode Island over No. 6 Creighton

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Both teams have dealt with key injuries this season, but Rhode Island is the one that is healthy at the right time.

Creighton guard Maurice Watson Jr. scored 12.9 points per game while averaging 8.5 assists, which would have led the nation if he played the whole year. Unfortunately, he went down with an ACL injury in the middle of January.

From that point on, the squad went 5-7 in the regular season with one win over a tournament team. The team looked better in the Big East tournament, and Marcus Foster has become a star, but there are still major question marks.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island is playing as well as ever with eight straight wins, including three in the Atlantic 10 tournament. The team also has the quickness and athleticism necessary to defend the perimeter, creating problems for Creighton's strategy of jacking up three-pointers.

Even if the Rams haven't played in the NCAA tournament since 1999, they have the skill on both sides of the court to not only beat the Blue Jays, but make a serious run in this tournament.

No. 12 UNC-Wilmington over No. 5 Virginia

Fans know what to expect out of Virginia at this point. Tony Bennett once again has an elite defense that leads the country with just 55.6 points allowed per game.

This is a team that held North Carolina to just 43 points in a win just a few weeks ago.

The question has always been whether there is enough offense to carry the team. While Justin Anderson and Malcolm Brogdon have been able to handle this role in the past alongside London Perrantes, the point guard is virtually by himself this year with a young team around him.

Kyle Guy has obvious talent, but the freshman is still inconsistent offensively like the rest of the roster.

UNC-Wilmington could make things interesting with a few players who can score the basketball. C.J. Bryce, Chris Flemmings and Denzel Ingram shoot the ball well from the perimeter, while Devontae Cacok does his damage in the post.

These players helped the Seahawks rank 18th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com.

If they can get points against the tough Virginia defense and the Cavaliers miss shots on the other end, UNC-Wilmington can pull the upset.

No. 13 East Tennessee State over No. 4 Florida

Usually, the matchups between power-conference squads and mid-majors become one-sided due to the size and athleticism of the favorite. That won't be the case in this battle.

Florida's top big man, John Egbunu, went down with a torn ACL, leaving a lack of depth and size in the low post for the SEC squad.

Meanwhile, East Tennessee State is much more athletic than your average No. 13 seed. Ryan Fagan of Sporting News captured some impressive warm-up dunks from the squad:

This team uses its athleticism to aggressively go for steals and blocks, which could frustrate the Gators.

Florida has a variety of talented guards who can go off on any night, but there is still inconsistent offense from these players. Kasey Hill is the catalyst, and he has 13 assists and 19 turnovers in his last five games.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers go at least nine players deep, and they are all juniors and seniors. One of those seniors is T.J. Cromer, who is averaging 19.1 points per game and shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range. He scored 41 points in the Southern Tournament against Samford.

With a true go-to option, a veteran lineup and a terrorizing defense, East Tennessee State has what it takes to shock the Gators.