I think the East region has loads of possibilities. I am not seeing a lot of upsets in the first round but after that I think we could see many brackets torn up. In my estimation all 8 of the top seeds could wind up representing this region in the Final Four – I am not sure if that makes this one loaded or light.
Michigan scored an upset in the Sweet 16 in their OT win over Kansas and while they have one of the best backcourts in the nation their frontcourt stepped up big in their last game.
The East Region championship game is an all Big East affair where Syracuse will take on Marquette and the winner will advance to the Final 4. When these 2 teams met in conference play this season Marquette was at home and beat Syracuse 76-71.
The last time Indiana won the National Championship they beat Syracuse in the 1987 title game. Both of these teams in the Sweet 16 East Region match up had blowout wins in their Big Dance openers, but each was tested in their last game.
Marquette has played 2 close games to advance to the Sweet 16 only winning those games by a combined 3 points. After an easy win in their first Big Dance game the Hurricanes struggled on offense in their last win only winning by 4 points.
Illinois did not end the season well losing 3 of their last 4 games, but they beat Colorado in their opening Big Dance game. NCAAB lines have Miami as 7.5-point favorites with a total of 128.5.
Indiana had no problem winning their opening round game in the Big Dance and to advance to the Sweet 16 they will need to beat a Temple team that is coming off a great win over NC State.
The No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles barely avoided being on the wrong end of a Cinderella story Thursday night. They survived a close Round 2 contest, and now they’ll have to face a former Cinderella in the No. 6 Butler Bulldogs.
The No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes and the No. 7 Fighting Illini are set to face off Friday, March 22 in a second round matchup in the East Region. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:40 PM ET, and it can be viewed on TNT.
In the first game for both teams in the East region and Syracuse is the 4th seed and Montana is the 13th seed. Obviously, in the Big East the Orange played a much tougher schedule and even though Montana only had 1 less wins NCAAB lines have the Orange as the big 12.5-point favorites with a total of 128.5.
In the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament the 14th seed Davidson Wildcats face the3rd seed Marquette Golden Eagles in the East Region.
The No. 12 California Golden Bears and the No. 5 UNLV Rebels are set to face off Thursday night in their first matchup of the NCAA Tournament. Will this be a classic case of a 12 seed taking down a 5 in the second round?
In the 2nd round match up in the East Region the 11th seed Bucknell Bison facing the 6th seed Butler Bulldogs in the opening Big Dance game for both teams.
By my count there are 7 teams in this bracket talented enough to end up representing this region in the Final Four in Atlanta. That should make for some very competitive action from now until then. Here is a sneak preview before we go any deeper.
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