Giant killers in your 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

The Shockers went 30-4 this season, winning 15 straight games on their way to winning a piece of the regular season Missouri Valley Conference title and being crowned conference champions in the MVC Tournament. Wichita State did have losses against tournament teams early in the season (Michigan State, Louisville and Oklahoma State), but team has blown through the competition as of late with depth and contributions across the board. They come in top-20 in both scoring and scoring defense in the country. Expect them to make a lot of noise from the No. 10 seed position.

The Blue Raiders have three players that can light teams up on any given night. Arkansas transfer JaCorey Williams leads the way for MTSU as the man on the block, Reggie Upshaw provides athleticism on the wing, and Giddy Potts can make it rain from the outside. The Blue Raiders already got an incredible upset last year when they beat No. 2 seeded Michigan State in NCAA Tournament. Two upsets in two years has a nice ring to it.

Despite winning against UCLA and SMU, and going undefeated in their non-conference schedule, USC was part of the last four in, forcing them into a playoff game to get into the 64-team field. Even if they were ranked slightly higher, people would still be sleeping on this team that has a lot of the ingredients to make run to the Sweet Sixteen. Jordan McLaughlin remains a steady force at point guard while young players like Bennie Boatwright and Chimenzie Metu have blossomed into stars. Defense and rebounding are an issue for the Trojans, but if their last loss to UCLA told us anything, they can cover those weaknesses with stretches of good defense and shot-making from all over the floor.

North Carolina-Wilmington has some firepower that is perfect for the big momentum swings in the NCAA Tournament. C.J. Bryce, Chris Flemmings and Denzel Ingram have the green light to fire at will from the outside. If they miss, Devontae Cacok gathers rebounds and finishes at an 80 percent clip from inside the arc. If you're looking for a 12-seed to hitch your wagon to, UNC-Wilmington isn't a bad choice.

Dunk City is back again and they are looking like a team that is ready to make another magical run. Brandon Goodwin leads the latest group of runners and gunners, averaging 18.2 points and four assists. They may not have played well against opponents during their non-conference schedule, but they have built a lot of momentum coming into the tournament, looking in sync and peaking at the right time. 

You wouldn’t think that a blue-blooded program like Michigan State would be a bracket buster, but neither did I before they were seeded at No. 9 in the Midwest Region. This is definitely not one of Tom Izzo’s strongest teams, but the beauty with Michigan State they always find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen and beyond when you least expect it. They have a winnable game against the University of Miami, and then potentially face Kansas and Bill Self, who is 2-4 against Tom Izzo since he took over at Lawrence.

There is a few ingredients underdog teams need to pull off upsets in the NCAA Tournament: three-point shooting is a very important one. Troy has four players who attempt more than three three-pointers a game and hit at least 34 percent of them – three of the four hit more than 40 percent of their shots beyond the arc. Duke is susceptible to low-seed upsets (*cough* Lehigh *cough*), so the Trojans have a good chance of shocking the world this week.

The Cowboys got saddled with a 10-seed, but they have enough talent to make the Sweet Sixteen – offensively at least. OK State averaged 85.5 points per game this season, which ranks eighth in the country. They will be facing a hot Michigan team, and have lost three straight games heading into the tournament, but we’ve seen teams harness offensive explosiveness to drive them through the tournament enough to know that the Cowboys have a good chance of going off and going far.

The darlings of the college basketball world – well, at least on sports Twitter where seemingly 90 percent of journalists graduated from. But what’s not to love about the Wildcats? This is their first tournament trip in their 112-year history in Division I, and they are a scrappy bunch that has toughness and defense as their calling cards. They have a tough road against equally stingy Vanderbilt, and a ridiculously good Gonzaga team. But with the country on their side, who knows what they can accomplish?

The Buccaneers have a one-man wrecking crew with T.J. Cromer, who is averaging 19.1 points per game and has scored 64 points in his last two outings. The Tournament is set up for big-time players to have big-time performances and carrying their small schools to victory against giants. Cromer might be the next star, like R.J. Hunter two years ago.

The Eagles have landed in the NCAA Tournament, and they are coming in hot. Winthrop is on an eight-game winning streak, riding the backs of their mini-powder keg guard Keon Johnson and long Australian import Xavier Cooks. Momentum goes a long way in the tournament, and the Eagles have a lot of it heading into their matchup with Butler.

The Bison have four players averaging double figures heading into the tournament. They battled against tournament teams in their non-conference schedule and even won against Vanderbilt on the road. West Virginia is a tougher task, but the Bison have been through enough battles this season for the moment to not be bigger than it has to be.

Watching these Razorbacks run is a thing of beauty. Arkansas has become an effective transition team, and has resulted in wins against Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina. They even made it to the SEC Tournament Final before losing to Kentucky. With four players averaging double figures, Arkansas has enough to talent to not be overlooked in his tournament.

Yes, they are No. 7 in the West Region, but we’re talking about a team that only lost four games this season, three of them coming against the No. 1 seeded Gonzaga. They have beaten Dayton, Nevada and Stanford to get to where they are. Don’t expect the Gaels to go quietly in this tournament.

Somehow, the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament got seeded No. 8 in the NCAA Tournament despite playing the Big Ten Championship game. Okay, selection committee. The late season losses hurt the Badgers, but they still recovered to have a decent Big Ten Tournament. Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes are still patrolling the inside and combining to average over 27 points per game, while Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter do their damage from the outside.

Defense may not exist at Nevada, but scoring sure does. The Wolf Pack have five players averaging double-digit points, including Marcus Marshall who is averaging just under 20 points per game. Defense might win championships, but offense can break a lot of brackets.