It is survive and advance time once again. Fasten your seatbelts as the Big Dance is about to get underway. The 48-team field has been announced and it is now all about the journey along the road with the destination being the College Cup in Houston, Texas.
Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson and Louisville have been awarded the coverted top four seeds which means they could play their way to Houston without ever leaving home.
All sixteen first-round contests will take place on Thursday, November 17. All sixteen second round games will take place on Sunday, November 20. The third round (round of Sixteen) will take place on Saturday, November 26 or Sunday, November 27 and the quarterfinals (Elite Eight) on Friday, December 2 or Saturday, December 3 at the site of the highest seed. The College Cup (Final Four) will take place on Friday, December 9 and Sunday, December 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Listed below are the first and second round contests.
#1 Maryland Bracket
First Round: Delaware (12-7-1) at Providence (12-5-1)
Second Round: Winner at #1 Maryland (18-0-2)
First Round: Tulsa (10-4-5) at Creighton (11-6-3)
Second Round: Winner at #16 Kentucky
First Round: FGCU (14-3-2) at South Florida (10-6-3)
Second Round: Winner at #9 North Carolina (11-3-3)
First Round: St Francis Brooklyn (12-4-3) at Dartmouth (8-4-5)
Second Round: Winner at #8 Syracuse (11-3-4)
#4 Louisville Bracket
First Round: Pacific (12-3-2) at CSUN (9-6-5)
Second Round: Winner at #5 Stanford (11-3-4)
First Round: Rider (13-3-3) at Vermont (13-6-1)
Second Round: Winner at #12 Virginia (10-3-5)
First Round: Illinois Chicago (9-7-3) at Loyola Chicago (13-3-1)
Second Round: Winner at #13 Notre Dame (11-6-2)
First Round: Colgate (13-6-2) at UCLA (9-7-2)
Second Round: Winner at #4 Louisville (12-5-2)
Clemson Bracket
First Round: Mercer (13-6-1) at South Carolina (10-7-1)
Second Round: Winner at #3 Clemson (12-3-5)
First Round: Fordham (10-6-4) at Boston College (8-8-3)
Second Round: Winner at #14 Albany (12-5-2)
First Round: Portland (12-5-1) at New Mexico (12-6-2)
Second Round: Winner at #11 Washington (13-6-0)
First Round: UNLV (10-11-1) at San Diego State (9-4-5)
Second Round: Winner at #6 Denver (17-0-3)
Wake Forest Bracket
First Round: Villanova (10-7-3) at Akron (12-5-3)
Second Round: Winner at #7 Indiana (11-1-7)
First Round: ETSU (12-4-3) at Virginia Tech (10-4-4)
Second Round: Winner at #10 Charlotte (12-3-2)
First Round: SIUE (10-4-5) at Michigan State (13-5-1)
Second Round: Winner at #15 Butler (13-5-1)
First Round: Radford (14-3-2) at Coastal Carolina (9-6-3)
Second Round: Winner at #2 Wake Forest (15-2-3)