NCAA Tournament 2017: 1st-Round Upset Picks to Add to Your Bracket

Before you dream about a potential Duke vs. North Carolina championship game, pay close attention to your first-round brackets. Double-digit seeds have favorable opponents in terms of style of play. The mismatches will bring a few upsets.

Wednesday’s play-in game between USC and Providence may become the start of a lengthy tournament run for either program. Should we be concerned with No. 6 Southern Methodist against either team?

A program that fell in an upset loss last year should fall again in another tough matchup. Which school will suffer consecutive first-round losses as a higher seed?

Who’s this year’s Middle Tennessee? Maybe the Blue Raiders pull off another shocker as the No. 12 seed. We’ll highlight first-round surprises to look for on Thursday and Friday.

No. 13 Bucknell over No. 4 West Virginia

It’s just the Patriot League, but No. 13 Bucknell took the crown as the champion of its conference:

With a distinction as a conference champion, the team rides a six-game win streak into the tournament. There’s momentum for this small program against a Big 12 heavy-hitter in West Virginia.

Bob Huggins’ group lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament championship game but put together a solid year to secure a No. 4 seed. Junior guard Jevon Carter leads the Mountaineers as the primary playmaker and catalyst on the offensive end.

West Virginia has stumbled against lesser teams such as Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas State almost midway through the season. A hungry Bucknell team with a high field-goal percentage (No. 26 in the country) and a pesky perimeter defense should shrink the Mountaineers’ margin for error while scoring efficiently.

After losing to Stephen F. Austin in the opening round last year, West Virginia falls to the Patriot League champions.

Prediction: Bucknell 76, West Virginia 73

No. 11 USC over No. 6 SMU 

Obviously, Southern California will have to earn a victory over Providence in a play-in contest to secure a first-round matchup with SMU. Expect the Trojans to avenge last year’s one-point loss to the Friars.

Don’t forget the Trojans started the year on fire, winning 14 consecutive games before their first loss to Oregon in blowout fashion. USC hit two rough patches during the season and lost four straight against tough Pac-12 competition.

After a reset and sophomore forward Bennie Boatwright slowly getting back to February form when he played his best basketball, USC should recover at the perfect time. Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Plaschke looks at the Trojans as a threat to SMU as well:

SMU has rolled through their competition with 16 consecutive victories going into the tournament as the American Athletic Conference champions. The Mustangs’ sharpshooters, Semi Ojeleye and Shake Milton, shoot 42 percent from beyond the arc. However, the Trojans bring a dynamic inside-outside game to the court with Boatwright back in the fold. 

As the No. 9 program in the nation in total blocks, and with a solid interior defense, the Trojans will slow down the Mustangs and take the victory in an upset.

Prediction: USC 86, SMU 80

No. 10 Wichita State over No. 7 Dayton 

Based on seeding, Wichita State’s victory over Dayton would be categorized as an upset. Nonetheless, when looking at the roster comparisons, this contest may get out of hand. Then again, should we expect anything less from the Shockers?

Just ask Arizona head coach Sean Miller about Wichita State. It’s a program that goes into the tournament and plays with chips on their shoulders every year. The Shockers ran through poor competition in the Missouri Valley Conference, but it’s unwise to disrespect their 30-4 record. ESPN’s Jay Bilas highlighted this team’s strengths:

On the other side, the Flyers lost in the first round as a No. 7 seed to Syracuse in the previous year. Despite prominent players returning—Charles Cooke, Scoochie Smith and Kendall Pollard—the Flyers will face off against a reshuffled but talented Wichita State starting lineup. 

Leading into this matchup, Dayton suffered consecutive losses to George Washington and Davidson. The Flyers will have to crank up their efforts on defense to slow down the Shockers, who rank No. 13 in total points this year. Unfortunately, they'll fall short.

Prediction: Wichita State 84, Dayton 72

Stats provided by Sports Reference, unless otherwise noted.