The 2016-17 NCAA men's basketball tournament comes with so many great first-round matchups — and some potential off-the-charts storylines if some of those matchups materialize in the second round.
You can't take anything for granted given the unpredictable nature of March Madness, but there are five possible second-round matchups that stick out above the rest. For those who love storylines, these are the ones that make you think twice before penciling in your Sweet 16. These are the potential high-ratings games that could define the first weekend.
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Here's a look at those five possible second-round matchups. There might be better matchups, but these storylines are hard to top.
1. No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Wichita State (South)
The Shockers have to get past No. 7 Dayton first, but this is a 30-win team with experience under Gregg Marshall. A potential second-round matchup against Kentucky and John Calipari would be a rematch of the Wildcats' 78-76 second-round win over Wichita State in the 2013-14 tournament. That ruined a perfect season for the Shockers. Could they return the favor in Indianapolis?
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2. No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan (Midwest)
Another potential second-round matchup in Indianapolis and a rematch of the 2012-13 championship game. The coaching matchup between Rick Pitino and John Beilein would be fantastic. Michigan emerged as the darlings of conference championship weekend by winning the Big Ten tournament after a scary incident with the team plane. Louisville is 3-0 in this series.
3. No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 7 St. Mary's (West)
Arizona is the No. 2 seed in the West Region and still looking for that first Final Four appearance under coach Sean Miller, but the Gaels could be a potential second-round roadblock. Three of St. Mary's four losses this season were to Gonzaga. Arizona is 3-1 in this series, but the schools haven't met since 2005.
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4. No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 Michigan State (Midwest)
Top-seeded Kansas bowed out of the Big 12 tournament early and has exited the tournament in the second round two of the last three seasons. The Spartans squeaked into the tournament and have 14 losses, but the Jayhawks would still be facing a Tom Izzo team in March. Izzo is 5-2 against Kansas.
5. No. 2 Duke vs. No. 10 Marquette (East)
Third-year coach Steve Wojciechowski has the Golden Eagles in the tournament for the first time since an Elite Eight run in 2012-13, and the former Duke guard could be greeted by former coach Mike Krzyzewski before tip-off. These two schools haven't met since 2010-11, and Duke leads the all-time series 6-2. This would be a great second-round game in the East Region.
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Honorable mention: There are several possibilities, including Virginia-Florida and Baylor-SMU in the East, UCLA-Cincinnati or even UCLA-Wake Forest in the South, Purdue-Iowa State in the Midwest, and Gonzaga-Northwestern and Notre Dame-West Virginia in the West. But as is the case with the top five, everybody has to get there first.
