NCAA Bracket 2017: Picks, Updated Odds Ahead of Wednesday 1st-Round Schedule

We're less than 24 hours away from the beginning of the first round of March Madness, when the 64 remaining teams in the NCAA tournament field prepare to fight for their chance to claim the title in Phoenix on April 3. 

The first game tips off at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, so make sure to completely fill out your bracket before then. 

Need some help? We'll take a look at the odds for some of the most crucial early matchups and make some picks. OddsShark has got you covered with the point spreads for every game.

The full bracket with all the first-round matchups is below:

Selected Odds and Picks

South Region	Date	Time	Point Spread	Pick
West Region
East Region
Midwest Region
No. 1 UNC vs. No. 16 Texas Southern	Mar. 17	4 p.m.	UNC -25	UNC
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Kent State	Mar. 17	9:57 p.m.	UCLA -17	UCLA
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Northern Kentucky	Mar. 17	9:40 p.m.	Kentucky -19	Kentucky
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota State	Mar. 16	2 p.m.	Gonzaga -18	Gonzaga
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Bucknell	Mar. 16	2:45 p.m.	W. Virginia -16.5	W. Virginia
No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt	Mar. 16	4:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt -4	Northwestern
No. 1 Villanova vs. Mount St. Mary's	Mar. 16	7:10 p.m.	Villanova -26.5	Villanova
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy	Mar. 17	7:20 p.m.	Duke -19	Duke
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech	Mar. 16	9:40 p.m.	Wisconsin -4.5	Wisconsin
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona	Mar. 17	2 p.m.	Oregon -16	Oregon
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State	Mar. 17	12:15 p.m.	Michigan -3	Michigan
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State	Mar. 17	2:45 p.m.	Louisville -19	Louisville

Biggest Favorite

Vegas is really, really high on Villanova.

No. 1 seed Villanova has the best odds of any team in the first round, per OddsShark, opening as 26.5-point favorites over Mount St. Mary's.

The defending champion Wildcats should certainly have an easy go of it against the Mountaineers coming off a 31-3 regular season and a Big East conference tournament championship.

Mount St. Mary's defeated New Orleans in a First Four game in thrilling fashion Tuesday, holding on to a scant one-point lead with 2.9 seconds left in the game. It was a notable victory for the Northeast Conference team, but the Mountaineers would need more than a miracle to surge past 'Nova in the first round.

The two teams will tip off Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET. 

Upset Special 

No. 9 Vanderbilt is the Vegas favorite to defeat the Northwestern Wildcats, who earned a No. 8 seed for their first entry into the NCAA tournament in program history. 

However, the Wildcats have made it this far and don't look ready to stop yet. 

Vanderbilt is favored by four points likely because of the efforts of junior guards Riley LaChance, who plays more than 30 minutes per game, and Matthew Fisher-Davis, who is averaging double-digit points (13.6). 

However, the Commodores lost games to Marquette, Bucknell, Butler, Minnesota, Middle Tennessee and Dayton this season, which bodes well for the Wildcats' chances to get past the first round. 

The Wildcats will take on the Commodores at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.