2017 NCAA Tournament: 5 most likely first-round upsets

Feb 8, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Virginia Commonwealth Rams head coach Will Wade celebrates with guard Doug Brooks (5) after the game against the George Washington Colonials during the second half at Charles E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

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The first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament starts on Thursday, so here are the five most likely upsets in this year’s edition of the Big Dance.

One of the things that makes the NCAA Tournament so much fun are the countless upsets. A team that most think has a slight chance at moving on defies all expectations and busts hundreds of thousands of brackets in an instant.

As the NCAA Tournament has grown through the years, however, upsets have become more and more likely. The parity in college basketball continues to rise, and the days of one or two first-round upsets are gone, replaced by dozens of potential upsets. Mid-majors have gone from cute, one-and-done miracles to college basketball powerhouses that garner the attention of the national media.

The 2017 NCAA Tournament is a prime example of this. Of the teams to make it to the Big Dance, Vegas has multiple lower seeds beating teams that have been seeded higher, including several mid-majors. Even some teams that are not favored by the oddsmakers are trendy picks to pull off a first-round upset, and we can expect to see several high seeded teams headed home early.

Picking a perfect bracket is next to impossible, but knowing which teams are built for an extended run in March and which teams are trending downward can make all the difference. Here are the five most likely upsets in the 2017 NCAA Tournament to help you try and win with your bracket.

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