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2017 NCAA Tournament: Brackets, schedules, predictions, players to watch

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Nation & World
By SECCountry.com
March 13, 2017
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Rejoice, college basketball fans: The 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket is officially out.

>> Click here to download your printable bracket (PDF)

Here's what you need to know about each region:

2017 NCAA Tournament East Region

Bracket:

The top four seeds are Villanova, Duke, Baylor and Florida. Potential sleepers in the region are SMU and Virginia. And the upset darlings could be UNC-Wilmington and East Tennessee State.

Schedule:

  • No. 1 Villanova vs. Mt. Saint Mary's/New Orleans, 7:10 p.m. on CBS, Thursday
  • No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech, Approx 9:40 p.m. on CBS, Thursday
  • No. 5 Virginia vs. No. 12 UNC-Wilmington,  12:40 p.m. on truTV, Thursday
  • No. 4 Florida vs. No. 13 East Tennessee State, Approx 3:10 p.m. on truTV, Thursday
  • No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy, 7:20 p.m. on TBS, Friday
  • No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Marquette, Approx 9:50 p.m. on TBS, Friday
  • No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 New Mexico State, 12:40 p.m. on truTV, Friday
  • No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 Providence/USC, Approx 3:10 p.m. on truTV, Friday

*All times are Eastern.

Predictions:

  • Sweet 16: No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 5 Virginia, No. 2 Duke vs. No. 6 SMU
  • Elite Eight: No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 2 Duke
  • Final Four: No. 2 Duke

Players to watch:

  • Villanova's Josh Hart: Hart was the Big East Player of the year and a key piece of last year's national championship team.
  • Duke's Luke Kennard: Kennard and Jayson Tatum helped lead Duke to the ACC Tournament title.
  • Baylor's Jonathan Motley: Motley had a monster year for the Bears and is one of the best big men in the country.
  • Virginia's London Perrantes: Perrantes was a key piece of last year's Virginia team that went to the Elite Eight.

2017 NCAA Tournament West Region

Bracket:

The No. 1 seed in the region is Gonzaga, which completed a 32-1 regular season, followed by Arizona at No. 2, Florida State at No. 3 and West Virginia as the No. 4 seed. The region also features teams that could pull an upset like No. 12 Princeton or No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast.

Schedule:

  • No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota State, 2 p.m. ET on TBS, Thursday
  • No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt, Approx 4:30 p.m. on TBS, Thursday
  • No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Princeton, 12:15 p.m. on CBS, Thursday
  • No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Bucknell, Approx 2:45 p.m. on CBS Thursday
  • No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota, Approx 9:50 p.m. on TBS, Thursday
  • No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No 10. VCU, 7:20 p.m. ET on TBS, Thursday
  • No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast, Approx 9:20 p.m. on TNT, Thursday
  • No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Xavier, 6:50 p.m. on TNT, Thursday

*All times are Eastern.

Predictions:

  • Sweet 16: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Maryland
  • Elite 8: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 Arizona
  • Final Four: No. 1 Gonzaga

Players to watch:

  • Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss: Williams-Goss is one of the top point guards in the country and easily one of the best talents the Bulldogs have ever had.
  • Arizona's Allonzo Trier: Trier's return from an PED suspension helped change the trajectory of Arizona's season and could get the Wildcats to the Final Four.
  • Florida State's Jonathan Isaac: Isaac is one of the most talented players in the country and figures to be a top NBA draft pick.
  • Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski: Karnowski is more mountain than man as he's listed at 7-foot-1 and 300 pounds. But he's also an extremely skilled big (averaging 12.6 points, 6 rebounds).

2017 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region

Bracket: 

The Kansas Jayhawks lead the way as the No. 1 seed, followed by Louisville, Oregon and Purdue to round out the top four. Lower seeds like Rhode Island or Nevada could prove to be bracket busters if they come to play later this week.

Schedule: 

Thursday, March 16:

  • No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Nevada (Milwaukee), 9 p.m., truTV
  • No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Vermont (Milwaukee), 6:27 p.m., truTV

Friday, March 17:

  • No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 N.C. Central -or- UC Davis (Tulsa, Okla.), 6:50 p.m., TNT
  • No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Michigan State (Tulsa, Okla.), 9:20 p.m., TNT
  • No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Rhode Island (Sacramento, Calif.), 3:30 p.m., TBS
  • No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona (Sacramento, Calif.), 1:00 p.m., TBS
  • No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State (Indianapolis), 11:15 a.m., CBS
  • No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State (Indianapolis), 1:45 p.m., CBS

*All times are Eastern.

Predictions:

  • Sweet 16: No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Purdue, No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 2 Louisville
  • Elite Eight: No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 2 Louisville
  • Final Four: No. 2 Louisville

Players to watch:

  • Kansas' Frank Mason: The Big 12 player of the year, Mason has had one of the best seasons in all of college basketball.
  • Oregon's Dillon Brooks: Also a player of the year, but in the Pac 12, Brooks will need to have a standout tournament to compensate for the serious injury suffered by teammate Chris Boucher.
  • Michigan State's Miles Bridges: Bridges will have Kansas sweating if both teams advance to the round of 32. He's one of the most-athletic players in the country.
  • Purdue's Caleb Swanigan: The third major conference player of the year winner in the Midwest Region, Swanigan laid waste to the Big Ten as the Boilermakers took home the regular-season conference crown.

2017 NCAA Tournament South Region

Bracket: 

The Tar Heels are somewhat of a surprise pick for the No. 1 seed. North Carolina fell to Duke twice, including in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, and the committee rewarded the Blue Devils with a No. 2 seed. Still, North Carolina is very deserving, having won the ACC regular-season title.

The region's top four seeds are North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA and Butler.

Schedule:

  • No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern, Friday 2 p.m., truTV
  • No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall, Friday 12:30 p.m., TNT
  • No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee, Thursday 3 p.m., TNT
  • No. 4 Butler vs. No. 13 Winthrop, Thursday 12:30 p.m. TNT
  • No. 6 Cincinnati vs. Kansas State/Wake Forest, Friday 7:27 p.m. truTV
  • No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Kent State, 10 p.m., TNT, Friday
  • No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Wichita State, Friday 7:10 p.m., CBS
  • No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Northern Kentucky, Friday 9:40 p.m., CBS

*All times are Eastern.

Predictions:

  • Sweet 16: No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Minnesota, No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 3 UCLA
  • Elite Eight: No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Kentucky
  • Final Four: No. 2 Kentucky

Players to watch:

  • Kentucky's Malik Monk: A star freshman among young stars who helped lead the Wildcats to the SEC regular season and tournament championships.
  • UCLA's Lonzo Ball: Projected to be one of the top picks in the 2017 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-6 freshman averaged a very healthy 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists for the Bruins.
  • North Carolina's Kennedy Meeks: Along with fellow upperclassmen Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II, Meeks led UNC to the regular-season ACC championship and could help take the Tar Heels back to the NCAA final.
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