Preseason Bracketology: 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Ladies and gentlemen, our projected #1 seeds in the 2017 NCAA tournament:

  • Duke (60% chance)
  • Kansas (36% chance)
  • Villanova (31% chance)
  • Kentucky (23% chance)

The four teams above probably aren’t a big shock. They’re the #1, #2, #3, and #5 ranked teams in our preseason ratings.

Why does #5 Kentucky sneak into the top line projection instead of #4? Because the #4 team is North Carolina, and the Tar Heels are stuck behind Duke in the ACC. We project North Carolina has only a 14% chance to win the ACC regular season title, while Kentucky has a 46% chance to win the SEC regular season title. In fact, Kentucky has a 24% chance to win both the SEC regular season conference tournament … and that’s their main path to a #1 seed.

Our #1 overall seed, Duke, is the only team in the country that we project as more likely to get a #1 seed than to miss out on one. For comparison, Duke also had the highest #1 seed odds in last year’s preseason bracketology projection, but at only a 29% chance, a far cry from this year’s 60%.

Of course, we have more than just #1 seeds. On to the bracket!

Preseason Bracketology: 2017 Projected NCAA Tournament Bracket

(click to enlarge)

 

Preseason Bracketology: 2017 NCAA Tournament Projected Bracket

[Note: We’re not worried about following the NCAA’s bracketing rules here. We know that, for example, Kansas shouldn’t potentially play Baylor in the second round. Our goal here is to show expected seed lines for each team, and give an idea of the rough quality of opponent they might face in each round. Trying to predict actual bracket matchups at this point is silly. Though we have to say, that potential Kentucky vs. Louisville Sweet 16 matchup sure seems juicy.]

For details on how this bracket was created, see our original Madness Strikes November blog post. That post goes into more detail, but the basic idea is:

  1. Simulate the regular season
  2. Seed & play out conference tournaments
  3. Simulate NCAA tournament selection and seeding

For that last step, we use a model that’s been trained on historical NCAA Selection Committee decisions. Put another way, this model uses relevant historical data not to predict how the NCAA Selection Committee should select and seed teams, but rather to predict how it actually will select and seed teams. Sometimes the Committee emphasizes things that aren’t necessarily tied to team quality, and that does get taken into account by our model.

However, it’s worth noting that we re-fit the model this year, using a few more years of data than we had originally. And it appears the Selection Committee is getting smarter. The weight for a team’s predictive rating went up significantly in our seeding model, while weights for most other variables decreased slightly. What that means is that the Committee’s seeding in recent years seems to be getting closer to a ranking of how good the teams are, as opposed to a ranking of RPI-based resumés. That’s good news, in our book.

Preseason Bracketology 2017: Odds For All 351 Teams

Our selection & seeding model doesn’t directly produce the single bracket you see above. Its output is actually a set of odds describing each team’s chance to make the NCAA tournament, and to earn each specific seed (among other info). The bracket is created at the end, based on those odds.

Here are our official 2017 NCAA Tournament preseason projected bracketology odds for every team. Bookmark this page for later, so you can come back and congratulate us on getting every single team correct. 😉

For a sortable table of similar odds that we update daily, check out our NCAA Bracketology detail page.

And, even cooler, to see projected round by round NCAA Tournament advancement odds based on our simulated brackets, check out our NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions.

TR Bracket SeedTeamBidAutoAt LargeAvg Seed If In1-4 Seed1 Seed
1Duke98%40%58%1.991%60%
1Kansas97%45%53%2.880%36%
1Villanova95%39%55%374%31%
1Kentucky92%38%54%3.763%23%
2Oregon88%28%60%3.860%21%
2Wisconsin79%23%56%4.247%15%
2Arizona85%25%61%4.254%17%
2Syracuse74%9%65%4.541%13%
3N Carolina89%14%75%4.353%13%
3Xavier86%23%63%4.451%13%
3W Virginia63%14%49%4.832%10%
3Michigan St77%18%59%4.940%9%
4Louisville80%10%70%539%8%
4Virginia79%11%68%539%8%
4UCLA68%15%53%5.232%7%
4Gonzaga85%43%42%5.338%10%
5California65%14%51%5.429%6%
5St Marys83%36%48%5.637%6%
5Purdue65%12%53%5.627%4%
5Cincinnati78%30%48%5.734%7%
6Indiana60%13%47%5.327%7%
6Connecticut79%30%50%629%3%
6Butler59%10%49%6.220%3%
6Texas55%9%46%6.219%3%
7Michigan50%9%41%6.117%3%
7Maryland45%7%39%6.116%2%
7VCU72%25%47%6.326%4%
7Florida69%15%54%6.421%3%
8Iowa State45%7%38%6.315%2%
8NC State42%3%40%6.313%2%
8Baylor59%8%51%6.518%3%
8Marquette40%6%33%6.512%2%
9Ohio State51%7%44%6.417%3%
9Creighton45%7%38%6.513%2%
9Texas A&M53%12%42%6.616%2%
9Clemson43%3%40%6.712%1%
10Georgetown44%7%37%6.712%2%
10Pittsburgh46%2%43%6.813%2%
10Seton Hall38%6%32%6.810%1%
10Florida St35%2%34%6.89%1%
11S Methodist62%20%42%6.719%3%
11Wichita St74%47%27%6.722%5%
11Dayton69%23%46%6.919%2%
11Vanderbilt51%9%42%7.312%1%
11San Diego St72%35%37%7.317%1%
12Rhode Island67%21%46%7.217%2%
12Princeton81%54%27%7.815%1%
12Nevada53%21%32%8.49%0%
12TX-Arlington58%39%19%10.23%0%
12NC-Wilmgton42%23%19%10.22%0%
13Ohio36%19%18%10.12%0%
13Valparaiso54%42%12%10.23%0%
13UAB53%42%11%10.92%0%
13Belmont47%40%6%11.91%0%
14Siena43%34%9%12.20%0%
14N Dakota St30%25%6%12.50%0%
14Vermont50%47%3%12.80%0%
14Fla Gulf Cst50%48%3%130%0%
15Lg Beach St34%29%5%130%0%
15Weber State34%31%3%13.10%0%
15Chattanooga35%32%3%13.10%0%
15Ste F Austin46%42%4%13.20%0%
16N Mex State47%45%2%13.30%0%
16Lehigh36%34%2%13.90%0%
16Winthrop41%40%1%140%0%
16Wagner36%36%0%15.30%0%
16Norfolk St19%19%0%15.70%0%
16TX Southern27%27%0%15.70%0%
Monmouth51%31%19%10.32%0%
BYU43%13%30%8.37%1%
N Iowa39%18%21%10.12%0%
Wm & Mary37%20%17%10.71%0%
New Mexico36%13%22%9.53%0%
Miami (FL)35%2%33%6.69%1%
Oklahoma34%5%30%7.37%1%
CS Bakersfld34%32%2%140%0%
Arkansas33%5%28%7.67%1%
Sam Hous St33%32%2%13.80%0%
Harvard32%19%13%10.71%0%
Akron31%16%14%10.71%0%
S Dakota St31%23%8%12.40%0%
UC Irvine31%26%6%12.70%0%
Texas Tech30%5%24%6.38%2%
Kansas St30%5%26%6.97%1%
Iowa29%4%25%6.97%1%
Georgia29%4%25%8.24%0%
WI-Grn Bay29%20%9%120%0%
VA Tech28%2%26%6.67%1%
Alabama28%4%23%8.24%0%
Murray St28%25%3%13.40%0%
Colorado27%3%24%8.14%0%
Stanford27%3%24%8.63%0%
Toledo27%14%13%10.81%0%
James Mad27%16%11%111%0%
Geo Wshgtn26%7%19%9.13%0%
Davidson26%6%20%9.81%0%
Middle Tenn25%12%13%11.50%0%
Montana25%23%2%13.80%0%
Notre Dame24%2%23%75%1%
USC24%3%21%8.14%0%
Yale24%15%9%11.60%0%
Illinois St23%11%12%10.91%0%
S Carolina22%3%19%8.72%0%
E Michigan22%9%13%11.50%0%
Bucknell22%21%1%14.40%0%
Jackson St22%22%0%15.70%0%
Arizona St21%3%18%83%0%
Houston21%5%16%9.62%0%
Col Charlestn21%13%8%11.50%0%
Oakland21%17%3%12.50%0%
NC-Asheville21%21%0%14.80%0%
Minnesota20%2%18%7.93%0%
W Kentucky20%12%8%11.60%0%
Iona20%13%7%12.10%0%
AR Lit Rock20%16%4%12.50%0%
Albany20%19%1%140%0%
Southern20%20%0%15.80%0%
Buffalo19%10%9%11.90%0%
Utah18%2%15%8.13%0%
Miss State18%3%16%8.52%0%
Richmond18%5%13%9.71%0%
UCSB18%16%2%13.80%0%
NC Central18%18%0%15.80%0%
Mississippi17%3%14%8.62%0%
Illinois17%1%15%8.62%0%
Washington17%2%15%8.62%0%
Auburn17%3%14%8.91%0%
Stony Brook17%16%1%14.30%0%
St Bonavent16%4%12%101%0%
Old Dominion16%9%7%11.80%0%
Hofstra16%10%6%12.10%0%
GA Southern16%11%5%12.80%0%
Mercer16%15%1%14.20%0%
F Dickinson16%16%0%15.70%0%
Providence15%2%13%8.42%0%
Temple15%3%11%10.21%0%
St Josephs15%3%12%10.90%0%
Ball State15%10%6%11.80%0%
Neb Omaha15%13%2%13.70%0%
IPFW15%13%1%13.70%0%
Boston U15%14%0%14.70%0%
Oklahoma St14%1%12%8.62%0%
Memphis14%4%10%9.71%0%
Boise State14%6%8%110%0%
Pepperdine14%3%11%11.10%0%
UNLV14%11%3%12.30%0%
Georgia St14%10%4%12.60%0%
E Tenn St14%13%1%14.40%0%
Idaho14%13%1%14.40%0%
Northwestern13%2%11%7.62%0%
LSU13%2%11%9.31%0%
LA Lafayette13%9%4%12.70%0%
Morehead St13%12%1%140%0%
N Hampshire13%13%1%14.30%0%
NC-Grnsboro13%12%0%14.60%0%
Mt St Marys13%13%0%15.70%0%
Fresno St12%5%7%11.30%0%
Evansville12%6%6%11.90%0%
Marshall12%6%6%12.10%0%
N Illinois12%7%5%12.10%0%
W Michigan12%6%6%12.10%0%
Indiana St12%6%6%12.20%0%
Elon12%8%5%12.20%0%
NJIT12%12%0%14.70%0%
UMKC12%11%0%15.10%0%
TX Christian11%1%10%8.21%0%
Oregon St11%2%10%8.71%0%
Wake Forest11%0%11%9.61%0%
Central FL11%3%8%10.21%0%
Towson11%7%4%12.40%0%
Wofford11%11%1%14.80%0%
Holy Cross11%11%0%150%0%
TX A&M-CC11%11%0%15.10%0%
Howard11%11%0%15.90%0%
Tulsa10%2%8%10.70%0%
S Illinois10%5%5%120%0%
N Florida10%9%0%14.90%0%
High Point10%10%0%15.20%0%
S Car State10%10%0%15.90%0%
Alabama St10%10%0%15.90%0%
LA Tech9%7%2%12.60%0%
St Peters9%7%2%13.10%0%
Denver9%8%0%14.30%0%
Lipscomb9%9%0%14.90%0%
Jacksonville9%9%0%150%0%
Rob Morris9%9%0%15.80%0%
Morgan St9%9%0%15.90%0%
Nebraska8%1%8%9.30%0%
IUPUI8%7%1%14.50%0%
North Dakota8%8%0%14.90%0%
Furman8%8%0%14.90%0%
Cal St Nrdge8%8%0%14.90%0%
Hampton8%8%0%15.90%0%
Tennessee7%1%6%9.60%0%
La Salle7%2%5%11.10%0%
Utah State7%2%4%12.10%0%
Central Mich7%4%3%12.50%0%
TN State7%7%0%14.50%0%
Stetson7%7%0%15.10%0%
Colgate7%7%0%15.20%0%
Gard-Webb7%7%0%15.40%0%
Bryant7%7%0%15.80%0%
Pacific6%2%5%11.70%0%
Columbia6%4%2%13.20%0%
Cleveland St6%5%1%14.20%0%
Oral Roberts6%5%0%14.60%0%
Cal Poly6%6%0%14.80%0%
Montana St6%6%0%15.10%0%
E Washingtn6%6%0%15.10%0%
Sac State6%6%0%15.30%0%
Radford6%6%0%15.40%0%
Liberty6%6%0%15.40%0%
Seattle6%6%0%15.60%0%
LIU-Brooklyn6%6%0%15.80%0%
Penn State5%0%4%9.70%0%
U Mass5%1%4%11.40%0%
Colorado St5%2%2%11.90%0%
Wyoming5%2%3%120%0%
Northeastrn5%3%2%13.50%0%
LA Monroe5%4%1%140%0%
Wright State5%4%1%14.40%0%
Detroit5%4%1%14.50%0%
UC Riverside5%5%0%150%0%
CS Fullerton5%5%0%15.10%0%
Idaho State5%5%0%15.30%0%
Navy5%5%0%15.30%0%
Charl South5%5%0%15.50%0%
NC A&T5%5%0%15.90%0%
St Fran (NY)5%5%0%15.90%0%
Beth-Cook5%5%0%160%0%
Maryland ES5%5%0%160%0%
Prairie View5%5%0%160%0%
Grambling St5%5%0%160%0%
GA Tech4%0%4%9.20%0%
E Carolina4%1%3%11.20%0%
Fordham4%1%3%11.40%0%
Santa Clara4%2%3%11.70%0%
Loyola-Chi4%2%1%13.10%0%
Bowling Grn4%2%2%13.10%0%
Charlotte4%3%1%13.20%0%
Fairfield4%3%1%13.90%0%
S Alabama4%3%1%140%0%
Rider4%3%1%14.10%0%
E Kentucky4%4%0%14.90%0%
W Illinois4%4%0%15.20%0%
UC Davis4%4%0%15.20%0%
SC Upstate4%4%0%15.40%0%
Samford4%4%0%15.50%0%
Sacred Hrt4%4%0%15.90%0%
Delaware St4%4%0%160%0%
Coppin State4%4%0%160%0%
Ark Pine Bl4%4%0%160%0%
Miss Val St4%4%0%160%0%
St Johns3%0%2%100%0%
Air Force3%1%2%12.40%0%
Drake3%2%1%130%0%
Missouri St3%2%1%13.40%0%
Dartmouth3%2%1%13.70%0%
Canisius3%2%1%14.10%0%
U Penn3%2%1%14.20%0%
Coastal Car3%3%0%14.50%0%
Manhattan3%3%1%14.50%0%
Youngs St3%3%0%14.90%0%
WI-Milwkee3%3%0%14.90%0%
TN Tech3%3%0%150%0%
Binghamton3%3%0%15.30%0%
W Carolina3%3%0%15.40%0%
NW State3%3%0%15.60%0%
New Orleans3%3%0%15.60%0%
Portland St3%2%0%15.60%0%
Campbell3%3%0%15.70%0%
Utah Val St3%3%0%15.80%0%
St Fran (PA)3%3%0%15.90%0%
Alab A&M3%3%0%160%0%
Missouri2%0%1%10.30%0%
Duquesne2%1%1%11.20%0%
Geo Mason2%1%2%11.60%0%
Portland2%1%1%12.50%0%
Kent State2%2%1%13.30%0%
Fla Atlantic2%2%1%13.60%0%
Cornell2%2%1%13.80%0%
Rice2%2%1%13.80%0%
North Texas2%2%0%140%0%
TX El Paso2%2%0%14.10%0%
Troy2%2%0%14.50%0%
N Kentucky2%2%0%15.10%0%
E Illinois2%2%0%15.20%0%
Austin Peay2%2%0%15.30%0%
TN Martin2%2%0%15.30%0%
South Dakota2%2%0%15.50%0%
SIU Edward2%2%0%15.50%0%
VA Military2%2%0%15.50%0%
Houston Bap2%2%0%15.60%0%
Kennesaw St2%2%0%15.60%0%
Army2%2%0%15.60%0%
American2%2%0%15.60%0%
Loyola-MD2%2%0%15.60%0%
SE Louisiana2%2%0%15.70%0%
Longwood2%2%0%15.90%0%
Wash State1%0%1%10.30%0%
Saint Louis1%0%1%11.40%0%
S Florida1%0%1%120%0%
Tulane1%0%1%12.10%0%
Loyola Mymt1%1%1%12.30%0%
San Diego1%0%0%13.40%0%
Brown1%1%0%140%0%
Drexel1%1%0%140%0%
Florida Intl1%1%0%14.10%0%
Bradley1%1%0%14.20%0%
Quinnipiac1%1%0%14.30%0%
S Mississippi1%1%0%14.30%0%
Marist1%1%0%14.80%0%
Arkansas St1%1%0%150%0%
Texas State1%1%0%15.10%0%
App State1%1%0%15.20%0%
Delaware1%1%0%15.30%0%
Niagara1%1%0%15.40%0%
SE Missouri1%1%0%15.50%0%
Jksnville St1%1%0%15.50%0%
Maryland BC1%1%0%15.60%0%
Nicholls St1%1%0%15.70%0%
IL-Chicago1%1%0%15.70%0%
Hartford1%1%0%15.70%0%
Lafayette1%1%0%15.70%0%
McNeese St1%1%0%15.80%0%
Lamar1%1%0%15.80%0%
TX-Pan Am1%1%0%15.90%0%
S Utah1%1%0%15.90%0%
Central Ark1%1%0%160%0%
Florida A&M1%1%0%160%0%
Central Conn1%1%0%160%0%
Chicago St1%1%0%160%0%
Rutgers0%0%0%10.20%0%
DePaul0%0%0%10.30%0%
Boston Col0%0%0%10.70%0%
San Jose St0%0%0%13.10%0%
San Fransco0%0%0%13.70%0%
Miami (OH)0%0%0%15.30%0%
Maine0%0%0%15.50%0%
Presbyterian0%0%0%15.90%0%
N Arizona0%0%0%15.90%0%
Citadel0%0%0%160%0%
Massachusetts Lowell0%0%0%00%0%
Incarnate Word0%0%0%00%0%
Grand Canyon0%0%0%00%0%
Abilene Christian0%0%0%00%0%
N Colorado0%0%0%00%0%
TX-San Ant0%0%0%00%0%
Savannah St0%0%0%00%0%
Hawaii0%0%0%00%0%
Alcorn State0%0%0%00%0%

Finally, here’s a quick reminder. If you haven’t checked out the rest of our projections, please do! They include: