March Madness is upon us. The NCAA tournament is finally here, and we’re looking at three weeks of high drama and great college basketball.
March Madness 2017: Bracket, schedule, live scores, and more for NCAA tournament
The NCAA tournament rolls on this month. Here’s what to know about college basketball’s biggest event.
It’s been a somewhat odd college basketball season. Nobody’s emerged as the obvious best team in the sport, a la Kentucky at certain points under John Calipari. But there are at least nine or 10 realistic national title contenders, including some teams who have done it recently (Villanova, Louisville, Kentucky, Duke, and more) and some who have fallen short time and time again (hello, Gonzaga!).
That means we’re looking at a field that’s even more wide open than normal, and it’s normally pretty wide open, anyway. The tournament is nicknamed Madness because it is always outrageous in its own unique way, and we should expect more of the same in 2017. Some elite teams will lose way earlier than they should, and we’re going to see at least a double-digit seed or two crash the Sweet 16. Maybe the Elite Eight?
The beauty of this tournament is that these things are going to happen. We know we will have chaos, because that’s the trademark of this event. The trick is figuring out where and when, and the only way to get those answers is to watch.
The format
There are 68 teams in the field. Four of those teams are eliminated before the first round, by way of “First Four” games in Dayton, Ohio. The entire tournament is single-elimination, and it’s divided into four regions: the East, West, Midwest, and South. Winning the tournament requires six victories in a row, or seven if you’re a First Four team. The tournament runs until the national title game on April 3 in Glendale, Ariz.
The teams
East region
1. Villanova
2. Duke
3. Baylor
4. Florida
5. Virginia
6. SMU
7. South Carolina
8. Wisconsin
9. Virginia Tech
10. Marquette
11. Providence/USC
12. UNC Wilmington
13. East Tennessee State
14. New Mexico State
15. Troy
16. Mount St. Mary’s
West region
1. Gonzaga
2. Arizona
3. Florida State
4. West Virginia
5. Notre Dame
6. Maryland
7. Saint Mary’s
8. Northwestern
9. Vanderbilt
10. VCU
11. Xavier
12. Princeton
13. Bucknell
14. Florida Gulf Coast
15. North Dakota
16. South Dakota State
Midwest region
1. Kansas
2. Louisville
3. Oregon
4. Purdue
5. Iowa State
6. Creighton
7. Michigan
8. Miami
9. Michigan State
10. Oklahoma State
11. Rhode Island
12. Nevada
13. Vermont
14. Iona
15. Jacksonville State
16. NC Central/UC Davis
South region
1. North Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. UCLA
4. Butler
5. Minnesota
6. Cincinnati
7. Dayton
8. Arkansas
9. Seton Hall
10. Wichita State
11. Kansas State
12. Middle Tennessee
13. Winthrop
14. Kent State
15. Northern Kentucky
16. Texas Southern
The bracket
You can download our latest complete, printable bracket right here.
The schedule and results (all times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 14 (First Four)
Mount St. Mary’s 67, New Orleans 66
Kansas State 95, Wake Forest 88
Wednesday, March 15 (First Four)
UC Davis 67, N.C. Central 63
USC 75, Providence 71
Thursday, March 16 (First Round)
Notre Dame 60, Princeton 58
Virginia 76, UNC-Wilmington 71
Butler 76, Winthrop 64
Gonzaga 66, South Dakota State 46
West Virginia 86, Bucknell 80
Florida 80, East Tennessee State University 65
Middle Tennessee State 81, Minnesota 72
Northwestern 68, Vanderbilt 66
Xavier 76, Maryland 65
Villanova 76, Mt. Saint Mary’s 56
St. Mary’s 85, VCU 77
Purdue 80, Vermont 70
Florida State 86, Florida Gulf Coast 80
Wisconsin 84, Virginia Tech 74
Arizona 100, North Dakota 82
Iowa State 84, Nevada 73
Friday, March 17 (First Round)
Michigan 92, Oklahoma State 91
Baylor 91, New Mexico State 73
Arkansas 77, Seton Hall 71
Oregon 93, Iona 77
Louisville 78, Jacksonville State 63
USC 66, SMU 65
UNC 103, Texas Southern 64
Rhode Island 84, Creighton 72
Kansas 100, UC Davis 62
Wichita State 64, Dayton 58
Duke 87, Troy 64
Cincinnati 75, Kansas State 61
Michigan State 78, Miami 58
Kentucky 79, Northern Kentucky 70
South Carolina 93, Marquette 73
UCLA 97, Kent State 80
Saturday, March 18 (Second Round)
No. 4 West Virginia 83, No. 5 Notre Dame 71
No. 8 Wisconsin 65, No. 1 Villanova 62
No. 1 Gonzaga 79, No. 8 Northwestern 73
No. 11 Xavier 91, No. 3 Florida State 66
No. 4 Butler 74, No. 12 Middle Tennessee 65
No. 2 Arizona 69, No. 7 St. Mary’s 60
No. 4 Florida 65, No. 5 Virginia 39
No. 4 Purdue 80, No. 5 Iowa State 76
Sunday, March 19 (Second Round)
No. 7 Michigan 73, No. 2 Louisville 69
No. 2 Kentucky 65, No. 10 Wichita State 62
No. 1 Kansas 90. No. 9 Michigan State 70
No. 1 North Carolina 72, No. 8 Arkansas 65
No. 3 Oregon 75, No. 11 Rhode Island 72
No. 3 Baylor 82, No. 11 USC 78
No. 7 South Carolina 88, No. 2 Duke 81
No. 3 UCLA 79, No. 6 Cincinnati 67
Thursday, March 23 (Sweet 16)
No. 3 Oregon 69, No. 7 Michigan 68
No. 1 Gonzaga 61, No. 4 West Virginia 58
No. 1 Kansas 98, No. 4 Purdue 66
No. 11 Xavier 73, No. 2 Arizona 71
Friday, March 24 (Sweet 16)
No. 1 North Carolina 92, No. 4 Butler 80
No. 7 South Carolina 70, No. 3 Baylor 50
No. 2 Kentucky 86, No. 3 UCLA 75
No. 4 Florida 84, No. 8 Wisconsin 83 (OT)
Saturday, March 25 (Elite 8)
No. 1 Gonzaga 83, No. 11 Xavier 59
No. 3 Oregon 74, No. 1 Kansas 60
Sunday, March 26 (Elite 8)
No. 7 South Carolina 77, No. 4 Florida 70
No. 1 North Carolina 75, No. 2 Kentucky 73
Saturday, April 1 (Final Four)
Gonzaga 77, South Carolina 73
North Carolina 77, Oregon 76
Monday, April 3
Championship Game: Gonzaga vs. North Carolina, 9 p.m. (CBS)
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