March Madness: Which tournament school grads pay off student loans first

March 14 (UPI) -- Princeton won a 'March Debtness 2017' Tournament conducted by a financial tech company.

CommonBond, a company that helps students pay for higher education, filled out the bracket. Schools advanced deeper into the tournament based on how quickly its graduates paid off their student debt.

More than 43 million U.S. college graduates are hampered by college debt. CommonBond conducted the study by calculating the time it takes for the graduates to pay off their loans based on their average debt at graduation and starting salary.

While the Tigers were crowned champions by paying off debt in 1.34 years, Duke [3.32 years], Wichita St. [4.34], and Miami [4.05] also made the Final Four. North Carolina [4.72] was the only one of the actual No. 1 seeds in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament to advance past the round of 32.

PRINTABLE BRACKET BELOW

North Carolina Central ranked last in the tournament, taking graduates an average of 11.92 years to pay off student debt. That means a college graduate could be approaching their mid-30's by the time its student debt is paid off. Texas Southern [11.90] took the second-longest time to graduate and pay off student loans. Winthrop [10.59] was the only other school with an average of more than 10 years to pay off the debt. Duke, which holds a No. 2 seed in the tournament, was the highest seed to advance to the Final Four. Fellow No. 2 seed Arizona [4.89] advanced to the Elite 8, while No. 3 seeds Michigan [4.69], UCLA [4.42], Oregon [6.40], and No. 4 Florida [4.64] made it to the Sweet 16.

The 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament began Tuesday with two play-in games.