2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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.

In the Final Four, North Carolina beat Oregon in Oregon's first Final Four appearance since the inaugural tournament in 1939, while Gonzaga defeated South Carolina in both teams' first ever Final Four appearance. 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.

After being the only longstanding Power Five team to never make the tournament, Northwestern from the Big Ten finally made the tournament for the first time in program history. 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

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.

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.

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.

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).

Schedule and venues

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

First Four March 14 and 15 University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second Rounds March 16 and 18 Amway Center, Orlando, Florida (Hosts: University of Central Florida, Stetson University) Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University) KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York (Hosts: Canisius College, Niagara University, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City (Host: University of Utah) March 17 and 19 Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: IUPUI, Horizon League) BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Host: University of Tulsa) Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina, (Hosts: Furman University, Southern Conference) Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California (Host: California State University, Sacramento)

Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 23 and 25 Midwest Regional, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Big 12 Conference) West Regional, SAP Center, San Jose, California (Host: Pac-12 Conference) March 24 and 26 East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Hosts: St. John's University, Big East Conference) South Regional, FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee (Host: University of Memphis)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 1 and 3 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)

Qualification and selection

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. Hawaii had previously been banned from entering the tournament as a penalty for infractions, but the NCAA later reversed its ban.

Automatic qualifiers The following 32 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2017 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid. ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidAmerica EastVermont6th2012AmericanSMU12th2015Atlantic 10Rhode Island9th1999ACCDuke41st2016ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast3rd2016Big 12Iowa State19th2016Big EastVillanova37th2016Big SkyNorth Dakota1stNeverBig SouthWinthrop10th2010Big TenMichigan27th2016Big WestUC Davis1stNeverCAAUNC Wilmington6th2016C-USAMiddle Tennessee9th2016HorizonNorthern Kentucky1stNeverIvy LeaguePrinceton25th2011MAACIona12th2016MACKent State6th2008MEACNorth Carolina Central2nd2014Missouri ValleyWichita State14th2016Mountain WestNevada7th2007NECMount St. Mary's5th2014Ohio ValleyJacksonville State1stNeverPac-12Arizona34th2016PatriotBucknell7th2013SECKentucky57th2016SouthernEast Tennessee State10th2010SouthlandNew Orleans5th1996SWACTexas Southern7th2015Summit LeagueSouth Dakota State4th2016Sun BeltTroy 2nd2003WCCGonzaga20th2016WACNew Mexico State23rd2015 Notes

Tournament seeds +East Regional – Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1VillanovaBig East31–31Auto20162DukeACC27–87Auto20163BaylorBig 1225–712At-Large20164FloridaSEC24–814At-Large20145VirginiaACC22–1017At-Large20166SMUAmerican30–421Auto20157South CarolinaSEC22–1026At-Large20048WisconsinBig Ten25–929At-Large20169Virginia TechACC22–1036At-Large200710MarquetteBig East19–1239At-Large201311*ProvidenceBig East20–1242At-Large2016USCPac-1224–945At-Large201612UNC WilmingtonCAA29–549Auto201613East Tennessee StateSouthern27–752Auto201014New Mexico StateWAC28–555Auto201515TroySun Belt22–1460Auto200316*Mount St. Mary'sNEC19–1568Auto2014New OrleansSouthland20–1167Auto1996+West Regional – SAP Center, San Jose, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1GonzagaWCC32–14Auto20162ArizonaPac-1230–46Auto20163Florida StateACC25–810At-Large20124West VirginiaBig 1226–815At-Large20165Notre DameACC25–919At-Large20166MarylandBig Ten24–823At-Large20167Saint Mary'sWCC28–425At-Large20138NorthwesternBig Ten23–1132At-LargeNever9VanderbiltSEC19–1533At-Large201610VCUAtlantic 1026–840At-Large201611XavierBig East21–1341At-Large201612PrincetonIvy League23–650Auto201113BucknellPatriot26–851Auto201314Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun26–756Auto201615North DakotaBig Sky22–962AutoNever16South Dakota StateSummit League18–1664Auto2016+Midwest Regional – Sprint Center, Kansas City, MissouriSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1KansasBig 1228–42At-Large20162LouisvilleACC24–88At-Large20153OregonPac-1229–59At-Large20164PurdueBig Ten25–716At-Large20165Iowa StateBig 1223–1020Auto20166CreightonBig East25–924At-Large20147MichiganBig Ten24–1127Auto20168Miami (FL)ACC21–1130At-Large20169Michigan StateBig Ten19–1435At-Large201610Oklahoma StateBig 1220–1237At-Large201511Rhode IslandAtlantic 1024–944Auto199912NevadaMountain West28–647Auto200713VermontAmerica East29–553Auto201214IonaMAAC22–1258Auto201615Jacksonville StateOhio Valley20–1461AutoNever16*North Carolina CentralMEAC25–866Auto2014UC DavisBig West22–1265AutoNever+South Regional – FedExForum, Memphis, TennesseeSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1North CarolinaACC27–73At-Large20162KentuckySEC29–55Auto20163UCLAPac-1229–411At-Large20154ButlerBig East23–813At-Large20165MinnesotaBig Ten24–918At-Large20136CincinnatiAmerican29–522At-Large20167DaytonAtlantic 1024–728At-Large20168ArkansasSEC25–931At-Large20159Seton HallBig East21–1134At-Large201610Wichita StateMissouri Valley30–438Auto201611*Kansas StateBig 1220–1346At-Large2014Wake ForestACC19–1343At-Large201012Middle TennesseeConference USA30–448Auto201613WinthropBig South26–654Auto201014Kent StateMAC22–1357Auto200815Northern KentuckyHorizon24–1059AutoNever16Texas SouthernSWAC23–1163Auto2015

*See First Four

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

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

Game summaries

East Regional – New York City, New York

East Regional First round

East Regional Final

East Regional all tournament team Sindarius Thornwell (Sr, South Carolina) – East Regional most outstanding player PJ Dozier (So, South Carolina) KeVaughn Allen (So, Florida) Chris Chiozza (Jr, Florida) Nigel Hayes (Sr, Wisconsin)

West Regional – San Jose, California

West Regional First round

West Regional Final

West Regional all tournament team Johnathan Williams (Jr, Gonzaga) – West Regional most outstanding player Trevon Bluiett (Jr, Xavier) J. P. Macura (Jr, Xavier) Jordan Mathews (Sr, Gonzaga) Nigel Williams-Goss (Jr, Gonzaga)

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

Midwest Regional First round

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all tournament team Jordan Bell (Jr., Oregon) – Midwest Regional most outstanding player Frank Mason III (Sr, Kansas) Dillon Brooks (Jr, Oregon) Tyler Dorsey (So., Oregon) Josh Jackson (Fr, Kansas)

South Regional – Memphis, Tennessee

South Regional Final

South Regional all tournament team Luke Maye (So., North Carolina) – South Regional most outstanding player De'Aaron Fox (Fr, Kentucky) Isaac Humphries (So., Kentucky) Joel Berry II (Jr, North Carolina) Justin Jackson (Jr, North Carolina)

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

Final Four

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team Joel Berry II (Jr, North Carolina) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player Nigel Williams-Goss (Jr, Gonzaga) Justin Jackson (Jr, North Carolina) Kennedy Meeks (Sr, North Carolina) Zach Collins (Fr, Gonzaga)

Game summaries and tournament notes

Upsets 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, with four in the first round, four in the second round, and one in the Sweet Sixteen.