2017 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2017 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament will involve 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It is scheduled to begin on March 14, 2017, and will conclude with the championship game on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The championship game will be the first contested in a Western state since 1995 when Seattle, Washington was the host of the Final Four for that year.

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams will enter the 2017 tournament, with all 32 conferences tournament winners receiving an automatic bid. The Ivy League, which used to crown its regular season champion with an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, will host a postseason tournament to determine an automatic winner. 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. But as of 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.^[1]

The remaining 36 teams will receive "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

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

The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.

2017 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

Dayton

Buffalo

Milwaukee

Orlando

Salt Lake City

Greenville

Indianapolis

Tulsa

Sacramento

2017 First Four (orange) and First and Second rounds (green)
Note:Greensboro (red), originally was awarded First and Second round games, but the games have been relocated due to NCAA objections over HB2

Kansas City

San Jose

Memphis

New York City

Glendale

2017 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2017 tournament^[2]

First Four

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

First and Second Rounds

• March 16 and 18
  • KeyBank Center,^{[s 1]} Buffalo, New York (Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
  • BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University)
  • Amway Center, Orlando, Florida (Hosts: University of Central Florida and Stetson University)
  • Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
• March 17 and 19
  • Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina (Hosts: Southern Conference and Furman University) Note: Greensboro originally was awarded First and Second round games, but the games have been relocated due to NCAA objections over HB2
  • Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Horizon League and IUPUI)
  • BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Host: University of Tulsa)
  • 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 and 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)

Notes

Qualifying and selection procedure

Out of 344 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Seven Division I teams are ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.

All 32 automatic bids are all conference tournaments winners. The remaining 36 bids will be granted on an "at-large" basis, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deems to be the best 36 teams at-large that do not receive automatic bids.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—play in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advance to the round of 64.

The Selection Committee also seeds the entire field from 1 to 68.

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams are automatic qualifiers for the 2017 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.

^ First Time of having a conference tournament in league history.

Media Coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports have US television rights to the tournament.^[3]

• 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) – CBS
• National Championship – CBS

Radio

Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

See also

• 2017 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 2017 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
• 2017 NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Tournament
• 2017 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 2017 National Invitation Tournament
• 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament
• 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament

Notes

1.^ The 7 teams that are ineligible, and the reasons for ineligibility:

Academic Progress Rate^[4]

Alcorn State

Savannah State

Other NCAA infractions

Hawaii^[5]

Self-imposed bans

Reclassification^[6]

Abilene Christian

Grand Canyon

Incarnate Word

UMass Lowell

References

External links

• Official website
• NCAA Men's Basketball Division I