March Madness 2017: ESPN analyst Dick Vitale talks NCAA Tournament

The man more commonly known as Dickie V wasted no time in making some picks as soon as the tournament field was announced, starting with some sleepers to keep an eye on this season.

While Vitale doesn’t think this will be the year we finally see a No. 16 seed topple a No. 1 seed, he still sees the potential for some big March Madness upsets in the making.

Middle Tennessee State was one of last year’s tournament Cinderellas, defeating Final Four favorite Michigan State in the opening round. Vitale likes what he sees again this year from the Blue Raiders, even while residing in the same region as his favorite, UNC.

"“We’ll still have some double-digit seeds that are gonna do well. One in particular, Middle Tennessee State really excites me. I know they’ve got a tough road playing a good, quality team like Minnesota, but again last year they beat Michigan State. They’re a team that really can cause some problems” [MTSU] would love the opportunity [to play UNC], but it’s a long way before they can get there. But I’m telling you, they’re a dangerous team. Reggie Upshaw, an explosive athete. [JaCorey] Williams on the interior, a good strong player. [Giddy] Potts can shoot the three. They’re well-coached, and they have their confidence by the fact that they went out and beat Michigan State last year."

Outside of MTSU, Vitale also likes a team who many feel should have been seeded higher than a number 10 this season, the Wichita State Shockers.

When looking at some of the more traditional powers who could make some noise, Vitale looks no further than South Bend and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, calling them a “true Elite 8 team” despite being in the dreaded 5-12 matchup against the giant-killer out of the Ivy League, Princeton.

And to show a little love to the Pac-12, Vitale told us that Arizona is definitely a team to watch, stating that they’ll “probably play Gonzaga for the right to go to the Final Four.”