2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament


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The 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2016–17 season. The 79th edition of the tournament began on March 14, 2017, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The championship game was the first to be contested in the Western United States since the 1995 tournament when Seattle was the host of the Final Four.

2017 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
Season2016–17
Teams68
Finals siteUniversity of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, Arizona
ChampionsNorth Carolina Tar Heels (6th title, 11th title game,
20th Final Four)
Runner-upGonzaga Bulldogs (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachRoy Williams (3rd title)
MOPJoel Berry II (North Carolina)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«2016 2018»

In the Final Four, North Carolina beat Oregon (making their first Final Four appearance since the inaugural tournament in 1939)[1] while Gonzaga defeated South Carolina (both making their first ever Final Four appearance).[2] This was the first NCAA tournament since 1979 to see two first-time Final Four participants. North Carolina then defeated Gonzaga 71–65 to win their 6th national championship, and 3rd under Roy Williams.[3]

After being the only longstanding Power Five team to never made the tournament, Northwestern from the Big Ten finally made the tournament for the first time in program history.[4] North Dakota (Big Sky), UC Davis (Big West), Northern Kentucky (Horizon League), and Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley) also all made their tournament debuts.

Tournament procedures

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A total of 68 teams entered the 2017 tournament, with all 32 conference tournament winners receiving an automatic bid. The Ivy League, which previously granted its automatic tournament bid to its regular season champion, hosted a postseason tournament to determine a conference champion for the first time. In previous years, had the Ivy League had two schools tied for first in the standings, a one-game playoff (or series as was the case in the 2002 season) determined the automatic bid. On March 10, 2016, the Ivy League's council of presidents approved a four-team tournament where the top four teams in the regular season would play on March 11 and 12 at Philadelphia's Palestra.[5]

The remaining 36 teams received "at-large" bids which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. On January 24, 2016, the NCAA announced that the Selection Committee would, for the first time, unveil in-season rankings of the top four teams in each division on February 11, 2017.[6]

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main draw of the tournament.

The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.[7]

The committee's selections resulted in two historic milestones. The Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference made their first-ever NCAA Tournament in school history, officially becoming the last "power conference" school to make the tournament. (This fact is ironic considering that Northwestern hosted the first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1939). The Wildcats' First round opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conference, also made history: with a record of 19–15, they set the mark for the most ever losses for an at-large team in tournament history.

Four conference champions also made their first NCAA appearances: North Dakota (Big Sky Conference), UC Davis (Big West Conference), Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Conference), and first-year Division I school Northern Kentucky (Horizon League).

2017 First Four (orange) and First and Second rounds (green)
Note: Greensboro, North Carolina was originally awarded First and Second round games, but the games were relocated to Greenville, South Carolina due to NCAA objections over HB2.

2017 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2017 tournament[8]

First Four

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Qualification and selection

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2017 Participants: East Region (blue), South Region (red), Midwest Region (green), and West Region (purple)

Eight teams, out of 351 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2017 tournament due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.[n 1] Hawaii had previously been banned from entering the tournament as a penalty for infractions, but the NCAA later reversed its ban.[13][14]

Automatic qualifiers

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The following 32 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2017 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.[15]

Notes
  1. ^ First year of eligibility for NCAA-sponsored Division I postseason play
  2. ^ Inaugural conference tournament

*See First Four

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

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The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

#16 Mount Saint Mary's 67, #16 New Orleans 66
Scoring by half: 32–29, 35–37
Pts: J. Robinson (23)
Rebs: M. Wilson (11)
Asts: M. Wilson, E. Mitrou-Long (4)		 Pts: N. Frye (18)
Rebs: T. Broyles, E. Thomas (8)
Asts: T. Broyles (3)

University of Dayton Arena
Dayton, OH
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Jeb Hartness, Brent Hampton, Steve McJunkins

University of Dayton Arena
Dayton, OH
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Nathan Ferrell, Jeff Anderson, Bill McCarthy

#16 North Carolina Central 63, #16 UC Davis 67
Scoring by half: 34–31, 29–36
Pts: D. Graf (15)
Rebs: K. Benton (12)
Asts: D. Graf (5)		 Pts: C. Moneke (18)
Rebs: C. Moneke (12)
Asts: L. White (4)

University of Dayton Arena
Dayton, OH
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Lamar Simpson, Tony Chiazza, Todd Austin

University of Dayton Arena
Dayton, OH
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Bo Boroski, Bill Covington, Nate Harris

East Regional – New York City, New York

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First round
Round of 64
March 16–17 		Second Round
Round of 32
March 18–19 		Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 24 		Regional Final
Elite 8
March 26
            
1 Villanova 76
16 Mount St. Mary's 56
1 Villanova 62
Buffalo – Thu/Sat
8 Wisconsin 65
8 Wisconsin 84
9 Virginia Tech 74
8 Wisconsin 83
4 Florida 84OT
5 Virginia 76
12 UNC Wilmington 71
5 Virginia 39
Orlando – Thu/Sat
4 Florida 65
4 Florida 80
13 East Tennessee State 65
4 Florida 70
7 South Carolina 77
6 SMU 65
11 USC 66
11 USC 78
Tulsa – Fri/Sun
3 Baylor 82
3 Baylor 91
14 New Mexico State 73
3 Baylor 50
7 South Carolina 70
7 South Carolina 93
10 Marquette 73
7 South Carolina 88
Greenville – Fri/Sun
2 Duke 81
2 Duke 87
15 Troy 65

East Regional First round

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KeyBank Center
Buffalo, NY
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Dwayne Gladden, Mike Scyphers, Tony Padilla

KeyBank Center
Buffalo, NY
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Gregory Nixon, Gary Prager, Jeff Anderson

Amway Center
Orlando, FL
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Bill Ek, Pat Adams, Karl Hess

#4 Florida 80, #13 East Tennessee State 65
Scoring by half: 33–32, 47–33
Pts: D. Robinson (24)
Rebs: D. Robinson, K. Hayes (7)
Asts: K. Hill (6)		 Pts: T. Cromer (19)
Rebs: T. Glass (9)
Asts: J. Long (6)

Amway Center
Orlando, FL
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Larry Scirotto, Rodrick Dixon, Mike Eades

Sunday, March 26
2:20 pm EDT

Madison Square Garden – New York City
Attendance: 20,047
Referees: Ron Groover, Jeffrey Anderson, Mike Eades

East Regional all tournament team

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West Regional – San Jose, California

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First round
Round of 64
March 16 		Second Round
Round of 32
March 18 		Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 23 		Regional Final
Elite 8
March 25
            
1 Gonzaga 66
16 South Dakota State 46
1 Gonzaga 79
Salt Lake City – Thu/Sat
8 Northwestern 73
8 Northwestern 68
9 Vanderbilt 66
1 Gonzaga 61
4 West Virginia 58
5 Notre Dame 60
12 Princeton 58
5 Notre Dame 71
Buffalo – Thu/Sat
4 West Virginia 83
4 West Virginia 86
13 Bucknell 80
1 Gonzaga 83
11 Xavier 59
6 Maryland 65
11 Xavier 76
11 Xavier 91
Orlando – Thu/Sat
3 Florida State 66
3 Florida State 86
14 Florida Gulf Coast 80
11 Xavier 73
2 Arizona 71
7 Saint Mary's 85
10 VCU 77
7 Saint Mary's 60
Salt Lake City – Thu/Sat
2 Arizona 69
2 Arizona 100
15 North Dakota 82

West Regional First round

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Vivint Smart Home Arena
Salt Lake City, UT
Attendance: N/A
Referees: Jeff Clark, Larry Spaulding, Eric Curry

Saturday, March 25
3:09 pm PDT

SAP Center – San Jose, California
Attendance: 17,011
Referees: James Breeding, Kipp Kissinger, Michael Stephens

West Regional all tournament team

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Midwest Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

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First round
Round of 64
March 16–17 		Second Round
Round of 32
March 18–19 		Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 23 		Regional Final
Elite 8
March 25
            
1 Kansas 100
16 UC Davis 62
1 Kansas 90
Tulsa – Fri/Sun
9 Michigan State 70
8 Miami (FL) 58
9 Michigan State 78
1 Kansas 98
4 Purdue 66
5 Iowa State 84
12 Nevada 73
5 Iowa State 76
Milwaukee – Thu/Sat
4 Purdue 80
4 Purdue 80
13 Vermont 70
1 Kansas 60
3 Oregon 74
6 Creighton 72
11 Rhode Island 84
11 Rhode Island 72
Sacramento – Fri/Sun
3 Oregon 75
3 Oregon 93
14 Iona 77
3 Oregon 69
7 Michigan 68
7 Michigan 92
10 Oklahoma State 91
7 Michigan 73
Indianapolis – Fri/Sun
2 Louisville 69
2 Louisville 78
15 Jacksonville State 63

Midwest Regional First round

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#1 Kansas 100, #16 UC Davis 62
Scoring by half: 50–28, 50–34
Pts: F. Mason III (22)
Rebs: L. Lucas (11)
Asts: F. Mason III (8)		 Pts: C. Moneke (20)
Rebs: C. Moneke (9)
Asts: D. Graham, B. Lemar, A. Hennings (2)

Bank of Oklahoma Center
Tulsa, OK
Attendance: N/A
Referees: DJ Carstensen, Deldre Carr, Ray Acosta

Midwest Regional Final

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Saturday, March 25
7:49 pm CDT

Sprint Center – Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 18,643
Referees: Randy McCall, Terry Oglesby, Ted Valentine

Midwest Regional all tournament team

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South Regional – Memphis, Tennessee

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First round
Round of 64
March 16–17 		Second Round
Round of 32
March 18–19 		Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 24 		Regional Final
Elite 8
March 26
            
1 North Carolina 103
16 Texas Southern 64
1 North Carolina 72
Greenville – Fri/Sun
8 Arkansas 65
8 Arkansas 77
9 Seton Hall 71
1 North Carolina 92
4 Butler 80
5 Minnesota 72
12 Middle Tennessee 81
12 Middle Tennessee 65
Milwaukee – Thu/Sat
4 Butler 74
4 Butler 76
13 Winthrop 64
1 North Carolina 75
2 Kentucky 73
6 Cincinnati 75
11 Kansas State 61
6 Cincinnati 67
Sacramento – Fri/Sun
3 UCLA 79
3 UCLA 97
14 Kent State 80
3 UCLA 75
2 Kentucky 86
7 Dayton 58
10 Wichita State 64
10 Wichita State 62
Indianapolis – Fri/Sun
2 Kentucky 65
2 Kentucky 79
15 Northern Kentucky 70

South Regional Final

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Sunday, March 26
4:05 pm CDT

FedExForum – Memphis, Tennessee
Attendance: 16,412
Referees: John Higgins, Keith Kimble, Mike Reed

South Regional all tournament team

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University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of the 2017 Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Villanova's East Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Gonzaga's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Kansas's Midwest Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (North Carolina's South Region).

University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Arizona

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National semifinals
April 1 		National championship game
April 3
      
E7 South Carolina 73
W1 Gonzaga 77
W1 Gonzaga 65
S1 North Carolina 71
MW3 Oregon 76
S1 North Carolina 77

Saturday, April 1
3:09 pm MST

University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Arizona
Attendance: 77,612
Referees: John Higgins, Doug Sirmons, Jeffrey Anderson

Saturday, April 1
5:49 pm MST

University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Arizona
Attendance: 77,612
Referees: Ron Groover, Tony Padilla, Ted Valentine

National Championship

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Monday, April 3
6:20 pm MST

University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Arizona
Attendance: 76,168
Referees: Verne Harris, Michael Stephens, Mike Eades

Final Four all-tournament team

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Game summaries and tournament notes

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Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2017 tournament saw a total of 9 upsets; 4 of them were in the first round, 4 of them were in the second round, and one of them in the Sweet Sixteen.

Round East West Midwest South
First round No. 11 USC defeated No. 6 SMU, 66–65 No. 11 Xavier defeated No. 6 Maryland, 76–65 No. 11 Rhode Island defeated No. 6 Creighton, 84–72 No. 12 Middle Tennessee defeated No. 5 Minnesota, 81–72
Second Round
No. 11 Xavier defeated No. 3 Florida State, 91–66 No. 7 Michigan defeated No. 2 Louisville, 73–69 None
Sweet 16 None No. 11 Xavier defeated No. 2 Arizona, 73–71 None None
Elite 8 None None None None

Record by conference

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  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
  • The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the Big 12, Big West, NEC, and Pac-12 conferences and losses in the First Four for the ACC and Big East conferences.
  • The MEAC and Southland each had one representative, both eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
  • The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Horizon, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, and WAC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. As part of a cycle beginning in 2016, CBS held rights to the Final Four and championship game.[21][22][23][24] As CBS did not want its audience to be diffused across multiple outlets, there were no localized "Team Stream" telecasts of the Final Four or championship games on Turner channels as in previous years.[25]

Following criticism of the two-hour format of the 2016 edition, the Selection Sunday broadcast was shortened to 90 minutes. CBS Sports executive Harold Bryant promised that the unveiling of the bracket would be conducted in an "efficient" manner, and leave more time to discuss and preview the tournament.[26]

  • First Four – TruTV
  • First and Second rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV
  • Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) – CBS and TBS
  • National semifinals (Final Four) and championship – CBS
  • Greg Gumbel (New York City and Glendale) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City, Atlanta, and Glendale) – first round, second round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Casey Stern (Atlanta) – First Four, first round and Second Round
  • Adam Zucker (Glendale) – Final Four
  • Charles Barkley (New York City and Glendale) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Seth Davis (Atlanta and Glendale) – First Four, first round, second round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Brendan Haywood (Atlanta and Glendale) – First Four, first round, second round, regional semi-finals, and Final Four
  • Clark Kellogg (New York City and Glendale) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Jimmy Patsos (Atlanta) – second round
  • Bruce Pearl (Atlanta) – first round
  • Jon Rothstein (Glendale) - Final Four
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and Glendale) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Steve Smith (Glendale) – Final Four
  • Wally Szczerbiak (New York City, Atlanta, and Glendale) – First Four, second round, and Final Four
  • Buzz Williams (Atlanta) – regional semi-finals
  • Jay Wright (Glendale) – Final Four

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament. For the first time in the history of the tournament, broadcasts of the Final Four and championship game were available in Spanish.[27]

First and Second rounds

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  • Ian Eagle and Donny Marshall – East Regional at New York City, New York
  • Tom McCarthy and Will Purdue – Midwest Regional at Kansas City, Missouri
  • Gary Cohen and P. J. Carlesimo – South Regional at Memphis, Tennessee
  • Kevin Kugler and Jim Jackson – West Regional at San Jose, California
  • Kevin Kugler, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – Glendale, Arizona

Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:[24]

  • NCAA March Madness Live (website and app, no CBS games on digital media players; access to games on Turner channels requires TV Everywhere authentication through provider)
  • CBS All Access (only CBS games, service subscription required)
  • CBS Sports website and app (only CBS games)
  • Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app (only Turner games, access requires subscription)
  • Watch TBS website and app (only TBS games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
  • Watch TNT website and app (only TNT games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
  • Watch truTV website and app (only truTV games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
  • Websites and apps of cable, satellite, and OTT providers of CBS & Turner (access requires subscription)

Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means:

  • NCAA March Madness Live (website and app)
  • Westwood One Sports website
  • TuneIn (website and app)
  • Websites and apps of Westwood One Sports affiliates
  1. ^ Woo, Jeremy. "UNC holds off Oregon, to face Gonzaga in final". SI.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Final Four 2017: Gonzaga holds on to beat South Carolina, advances to title game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (April 4, 2017). "North Carolina Stops Gonzaga, Turning Heartbreak Into Joy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Martin, Jill (March 12, 2017). "At long last, Northwestern reaches NCAAs". CNN. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Ivy League Adds Men's, Women's Basketball Tournaments Beginning in 2017" (Press release). Ivy League. March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (January 24, 2017). "Midseason March Madness sneak preview should bring positive buzz". USA Today. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  7. ^ "March Madness bracket: How the 68 teams are selected for the Division I men's basketball tournament". National Collegiate Athletic Association. February 18, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  8. ^ "2016–18 preliminary rounds". NCAA. November 14, 2014. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Division I student-athletes still making gains in APR". NCAA. April 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "University of Northern Colorado imposed penalties on itself over NCAA violations". Denver Post. The Associated Press. October 8, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "CSUN admits violations in men's basketball program, self-imposes postseason ban". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  12. ^ "Multidivision and Reclassifying for 2015–16" (PDF). NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  13. ^ "Former Hawaii head men's basketball coach violated NCAA ethical conduct rules". NCAA. December 22, 2015.
  14. ^ "Hawaii men's basketball eligible for postseason after Committee on Infractions reconsideration". NCAA. March 3, 2017.
  15. ^ "March Madness 2017: Conference tournament scores, schedule, NCAA tournament automatic qualifiers". NCAA. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c d e Andrew Astleford (March 26, 2017). "South Carolina, Florida dominate All-East Region team". SECCountry.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d e Thorpe, Jacob (March 25, 2017). "Johnathan Williams was the Best in the West". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  18. ^ a b c d e Shane Keyser (March 25, 2017). "KU's Frank Mason and Josh Jackson make NCAA All-Midwest Regional team". Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c d e Jerry Tipton (March 26, 2017). "Fox on UK's foul trouble: 'I'm not blaming the officials, man'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Joel Berry named Final Four Most Outstanding Player". theScore.com. April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  21. ^ "CBS Sports, Turner Sports announce programming schedule for 2014, 2015". National Collegiate Athletic Association. May 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  22. ^ "Turner Sports and CBS Sports Announce 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Commentator Teams". NCAA. March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  23. ^ "March Madness: Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Casey Stern and Debbie Antonelli highlight March Madness Commentator Teams". NCAA. March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Maiman, Beth (March 8, 2017). "March Madness TV schedule: How to watch and live stream every game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament". NCAA. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  25. ^ "Media Circus: Breaking down CBS and Turner's March Madness broadcast package". Sports Illustrated. March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  26. ^ "CBS cuts bloated Selection Sunday show to 90 minutes from two hours". Sporting News. March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  27. ^ "Westwood One and the NCAA make history with first Spanish language audio call of NCAA Men's Final Four". NCAA. February 28, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.