An updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket following the First Four games with the field down to 64 teams
Once upon a time, the NCAA Tournament began with 64 teams and everything started from the first round. In recent years, though, in the interest of the bubble teams they expanded the field to 68 teams. The result is the First Four games, which have been played in Dayton, OH in recent years. On Tuesday and Wednesday, that quartet of games started the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
The action started on Tuesday night with possibly the best game of the bunch. Two 16-seeds in the New Orleans Privateers and Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers went to war and jostled for the lead all game. Despite the fact that New Orleans had a chance at the win, they didn’t get a shot off and lost by one.
Following that on Tuesday night was a matchup between No. 11 seeds as the Kansas State Wildcats took on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This one was far less close than its predecessor in Dayton as Bruce Weber’s Wildcats built a lead and seemingly weren’t keen on relinquishing it.
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket
Wednesday night followed the same pattern as the two No. 16-seeded squads, North Carolina Central and UC Davis, took the floor to battle for the right to face the Kansas Jayhawks. This was another closely contested matchup. However, NC Central couldn’t capitalize down the stretch. As such, the Aggies were able to notch the four point win.
The First Four’s finale featured the USC Trojans and Providence Friars as No. 11 seeds and fans were treated to another great one. USC went down big at halftime, but Andy Enfield’s Trojans showed a ton of fight. They got hot and fought back to ultimately overtake the Friars.
Now the 2017 NCAA Tournament field is down 64 teams. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the update 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket:
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Now it’s time for the real March Madness as the Round of 64 will begin on Thursday. We’ve seen the No. 11 seeds actually go on some runs in recent years after the First Four. Could we see that again this year? What’s more, maybe UC Davis or Mount Saint Mary’s will be able to become the first No. 16 seed ever to earn a win over a No. 1. We shall see.