NCAA Bracket 2017: Picks, Odds Info, Schedule After Tuesday's First 4 Games

It was a heroic effort for Mount St. Mary's in its NCAA tournament First Four game against New Orleans, and the Mountaineers were able to earn a 67-66 victory.

The reward for its efforts is dubious at best. The 16th-seeded victors will head to Buffalo, New York, to play defending national champion and top-seeded Villanova (31-3) Thursday.

Mount St. Mary's (20-15) appears to have little chance at becoming the first 16th seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, and OddsShark has listed the Mountaineers at a ridiculous 1,000-1 to win the NCAA tournament, while the Wildcats are 8-1.

The Mountaineers may not have a reasonable chance of beating the Wildcats, but they took care of business Tuesday night. They were led by 5'5" guard Junior Robinson, who scored a game-high 23 points, and he scored the game-sealing bucket with 1:29 to play.

New Orleans had the ball with a chance to gain the lead in the final seconds, but Erik Thomas' inbounds pass was stolen by Chris Wray and that clinched the win for Mount St. Mary's.

"It's a dream come true," Mount St. Mary's guard Elijah Long said (h/t Associated Press and ESPN). "But this is March Madness, and this is part of the madness."

Click here for B/R's printable bracket.

Robinson will undoubtedly cause problems for Villanova at various points Thursday, but the Wildcats are too talented, deep and prepared under head coach Jay Wright to let this game slip away.

Josh Hart is a remarkable star and a wonderful leader who is averaging 18.9 points per game and shooting 50.8 percent from the floor. Kris Jenkins hit the game-winning shot in the national championship title game last year against North Carolina, and he lives for the big moments. Jenkins is averaging 13.4 points per night and shooting 86.4 percent from the line.

Hart and Jenkins have a complementary star in Jalen Brunson, and the point guard is averaging 14.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. Brunson is always looking for the open man, but when he takes a shot, he is usually accurate. He is hitting 54.1 percent from the field.

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press/Associated Press

The star power is one thing, but the complementary players like Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo and Eric Paschall allow the Wildcats to stretch leads once they gain the advantage.

Prediction: Mount St. Mary's has nothing to lose in this game, and look for the Mountaineers to come out loose and playing well. That should help keep them in the game for 10 minutes. After that, Villanova will take care of business and ultimately roll to a 20-plus point victory.

John Minchillo/Associated Press/Associated Press

The sixth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats (29-5) were waiting to find out who they would play in their first game Friday in Sacramento, California, and they found out Tuesday night that it would be Kansas State.

The Wildcats got the best of Wake Forest by a 95-88 margin to move ahead in the battle of the 11th seeds.

Kansas State (21-13) got off to a good start and led by a 40-36 margin at halftime, and the Wildcats were able to maintain their lead throughout the second half. While the Demon Deacons made a couple of runs, the Wildcats always had a better answer.

Cincinnati comes into the tournament with odds of 100-1 to come away with the title, while Kansas State is a longer shot at 250-1.

Wesley Iwundu was the dominant player on the court for the Wildcats with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Kamau Stokes was right behind his teammate with 22 points.

"Cincinnati is a good matchup for us," Iwundu told truTV sideline reporter Lewis Johnson after the game. "We'll be the underdogs, but we like being the underdogs."

Kansas State had a remarkable shooting day, connecting on 66 percent of its shots from the field. The Wildcats hope to keep that shooting streak together against the powerful Bearcats.

John Minchillo/Associated Press/Associated Press

Cincinnati is led by sophomore guard Jacob Evans, who is averaging 13.7 points per game and connecting on 47.1 percent of his shots from the field. Junior forward Kyle Washington is right behind with 13.1 points per night and he is averaging 6.7 boards per game.

Prediction: The sixth-seeded Bearcats should have an edge on the 11th-seeded Wildcats, but head coach Bruce Weber's team was impressive in beating a good Wake Forest team.

Iwundu is a versatile performer who can get the job done as a scorer, rebounder and passer. Look for the hot-shooting Wildcats to take over in the second half and earn the upset victory.