The 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2016–17 season.

The 79th edition of the tournament began on March 14, 2017, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

In previous years, had the Ivy League had two schools tied for first in the standings, a one-game playoff (or series as was the case in the 2002 season) determined the automatic bid.

On January 24, 2016, the NCAA announced that the Selection Committee would, for the first time, unveil in-season rankings of the top four teams in each division on February 11, 2017.

The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2017 tournament[8] First Four First and Second Rounds Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) Eight teams, out of 351 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2017 tournament due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.

[21][22][23][24] As CBS did not want its audience to be diffused across multiple outlets, there were no localized "Team Stream" telecasts of the Final Four or championship games on Turner channels as in previous years.

CBS Sports executive Harold Bryant promised that the unveiling of the bracket would be conducted in an "efficient" manner, and leave more time to discuss and preview the tournament.