NCAA bracket 2017 live reaction: Instant analysis on Selection Sunday

Selection Sunday is a sports holiday unlike any other, in that the celebration doesn’t revolve around an actual game. Instead, sports fans from across the country eagerly tune into CBS to find out the matchups for the month-long event that captivates the country more than the postseason of any other major American sport.

The 2017 NCAA tournament figures to deliver once again, as college basketball has fielded a season that, to date, has not included any team or small collections of teams that have clearly separated themselves from those immediately behind them. With that being the case, there figures to be little difference amongst the teams seeded 1-4, making the matchups the Selection Committee delivers Sunday evening even more critical than they are in most years.

Refresh this page throughout the NCAA tournament Selection Show -- 5:30-7:30 p.m. (ET) on CBS — for instant reaction and analysis to the unveiling of the bracket. Also, prepare yourself for the big reveal by printing out a blank bracket, or checking out our updated bracket throughout the show.

5:22 — When asked what he’s most looking forward to tonight, Clark Kellogg said “who’s going to play who, and when.” Well, setting attainable goals is important this time of year.

5:28 — I will never, ever understand the flood of commercials for The Master’s on CBS during the four months or so leading up to the tournament. I’m quite confident that the golf fans who are going to watch the tournament are aware of what channel it’s on. The casual sports fans who only sort of care will have forgotten by the time it actually rolls around. Love that piano riff, though.

5:30 — The time has come. Both to find out the bracket for the 2017 NCAA tournament and to hear Charles Barkley break down college basketball teams he hasn’t spent a second of time watching over the last four months. Let’s do this.

East Region

5:32 -- Reigning national champion Villanova is your No. 1 overall seed and the top seed in the East. The Wildcats have the most victories of any defending national champ heading into the tournament a year later. Will be looking to become college basketball’s first repeat national champion in a decade.

5:34 — Yikes, Wisconsin and Virginia Tech in a power conference battle in the 8/9 death game below Villanova. Buzz Williams wasn’t the most popular guy in Madison when he was the head coach at Marquette.

5:36 — Your first big surprise of the bracket reveal is that Duke not only isn’t a No. 1 seed, but they’re not even the top No. 2 seed. Their pairing in the same bracket as the overall No. 1 seed shows that.

5:38 — Providence and USC continue their bitter March rivalry by playing one another in Dayton, which means the Friars and Trojans were two of the last four at-large teams in. Not great for Syracuse, Illinois State and company.

5:39 — Here’s the East in its entirety:

5:40 — Looking at the region overall, this is destined to be a spot where people roll with a couple of trendy upsets (No. 13 ETSU over No. 4 Florida and No. 12 UNCW over No. 5 Virginia), but ultimately have chalk or near chalk in the regional final. I don’t think we’ll see many brackets that don’t have Nova and Duke squaring off in the Elite 8.

Midwest

5:43 — No shock, Kansas is your No. 1 seed here. They’ll get NC Central or UC Davis, who will play in Dayton on Wednesday.

5:44 — Miami/Michigan State becomes the second ACC/Big Ten 8 vs. 9 game.

5:46 — Iowa State vs. Nevada should be a tremendous 12/5 game. Athletes everywhere.

5:47 -- Louisville snags a two seed here, which is a line above where most had thought they’d be. They’ll see a familiar face in the first round in former Western Kentucky head coach Ray Harper, who’s now at Jacksonville State.

5:49 — Baylor falls down a line to No. 3, which has to be because of the injury to Chris Boucher. My guess is that the committee originally had the Ducks as a two and then simply swapped them with Louisville after the news broke last night.

5:53 — Here’s the full Midwest:

South Region

5:55 — North Carolina picks up the third No. 1 seed despite dropping two out of three to Duke. They’ll face Texas Southern in a game that will feature a bunch of dunks and noted American sports icon Trae Jefferson.

5:57 -- Minnesota is a somewhat surprising five seed. Their reward is a Middle Tennessee team that beat Michigan State a year ago and is much, much better this year. That will be everyone’s guaranteed upset pick.

5:59 — Ohhhhhhh dear. Wichita State gets a stunning No. 10 seed, setting up the potential for “We Shouldn’t Have to be Doing This” round two with Kentucky in the second round. The Shockers felt like they got screwed by having to play the Wildcats in the second round when they were a No. 1 in 2014, now the roles have been reversed.

6:01 -- This is without question the highest-profile bracket of the tournament, with North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA as the headliners. The Wildcats played extremely memorable against the other two early in the season, beating North Carolina in Las Vegas and losing to UCLA at home.

6:02 — Here’s the full South. Another region where trendy first round upsets and second weekend chalk figure to be the norm.

West Region

6:04—Gonzaga is your No. 1 seed. Fire up your I’M ANGRY ABOUT THIS AND THEY’RE NOT MAKING IT OUT OF THE FIRST WEEKEND reactions.

6:04 —It is officially “the year.” Northwestern makes its first NCAA tournament appearance in its 112 history and will take on Vanderbilt in the 8/9 game. Commodores being comfortably in the field is fairly stunning.

6:05 —Just noticed we have MIKE DAUM vs. Gonzaga in the opening round. Not guaranteeing a 16/1 upset, just guaranteeing that this will be the 1/16 game you’ll most want to watch.

6:07—Everyone will have Arizona coming out of this region. Everyone. If Sean Miller doesn’t make it happen, then Wildcat fans are going to grow even more restless, and Miller will grow even more annoyed.

6:08 --DUNK CITY BACK. The Eagles get a 14 seed and will take on third-seeded Florida State in round one. Seth Davis immediately advances FGCU to the Sweet 16 without even seeing what the 6/11 game is.

6:09—The 6/11 game is Maryland/Xavier and just like that, the bubbles of Syracuse, Illinois State, Monmouth and everyone else have exploded.

6:10—Your first four out: California, Illinois State, Iowa and Syracuse. They get No. 1 seeds in the NIT ... which is totally just as cool as being in the NCAA tournament.

6:11—Here’s the West in full:

6:12—So Vanderbilt becomes the first team ever to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large team with 15 losses, and they do so as a No. 9 seed. That seems, uh, off. Having said that, they could certainly knock off Northwestern.

6:15 --Overall thoughts:

—Everyone’s going to say the East is the toughest region because North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA are huge names that can score a lot of points, but that’s probably not telling the whole story. Villanova/Duke is the toughest 1,2 combo in any of the regions, and the depth of teams in the middle of the Midwest is extremely strong.

—As expected, the West will be labeled as the worst region because it’s headlined by Gonzaga.

—Most intriguing first round game: Virginia vs. UNCW. The Seahawks do not like to slow it down and they love to score a bunch of points. They almost beat Duke a year ago, but the Cavaliers present an entirely different challenge. Tony Bennett’s team won’t let Wilmington get points in transition, so in order to pull off the upset, they’re going to have to have one or two guys get hot from outside.

—Upset everyone you know is going to pick: Middle Tennessee over Minnesota.

—Sexiest potential second round game: Kentucky vs. Wichita State. The 2014 revenge storyline is too easy, and that game three years ago was one of the better tournament games in recent memory.

—Louisville-Michigan in the Midwest is another one to watch. The Cardinals and Wolverines played a tremendous national title game four years ago, and after an insane week that started with a plane crash and ended with a Big Ten title, John Beilein’s team is suddenly one of the most dangerous in the country. It would also be sweet revenge for Beilein, who also lost to Louisville in the 2005 Elite 8 when he was at West Virginia. The Mountaineers led that game by 18 points before losing on overtime.

—The bracket is now out in full. You can find it and print it off right here.

6:25—I know it’s not this simple, but Syracuse being left out while going 10-8 in the ACC and Vanderbilt being No. 9 seed after going 10-8 in the SEC is bizarre. Yeah, the Orange had some atrocious non-conference losses, but it’s not like the Commodores were setting the world on fire in November and December either. Again, they’ve been beaten 15 times.

6:27—Having said that, I’d still prefer it if it were Illinois State who snagged that bid over a 19-15 SEC team. I like the “tie goes to the runner” approach that some have been tossing around in recent weeks. The Redbirds don’t have the quality wins that the power conference contenders do, but they also didn’t have 15-20 opportunities.

6:31—Big fan of Andy Enfield’s puppy. Hope he goes to Dayton.

6:34—Tip times and info for the Dayton games here:

6:40—Not saying either team is going to win or even keep their games close, but Trae Jefferson vs. North Carolina and Mike Daum vs. Gonzaga guarantees big time 16 vs. 1 fun.

6:44—Yo, it’s never, ever too early for bracket predictions. Here’s Ricky O’Donnell rolling with the Jayhawks to cut down the nets.

6:53—Show is wrapping up which means the time for instant reaction is moving out and the time for bracket predictions is moving in. Happy picking everyone, and enjoy the best month of the year.