East Bracket Breakdown

I'm going to do a brief breakdown of each of the four brackets, and the east bracket is the first:

#3 Seed Or Lower Favorite: Washington State. Since we all know that the #1 seeds are the favorites in each bracket, and also that some of them will lose, I'd rather try to name the most likely #3 seeds or lower to get through into the Final Four. To me, Washington State is actually better built than Louisville to make a deep Tournament run. They are just incredibly solid at the important skills for a Tournament run: tight defense, good guard play, and taking care of the ball. While they didn't make my list, Notre Dame is a team to be careful about regards to their undefeated record at home - they are not the same team on the road. I think Washington State gets its shot at UNC in the Sweet Sixteen. I'd pick UNC to win that game, of course, but Wazzu has a shot.

Most Likely Double-Digit Seed To Win A Game: Saint Joseph's. I did warn that this was the least likely 6/11 upset here, but there could be two or more 6/11 upsets when you look at the brackets this season. Also, my analysis before didn't go too deep into analyzing the teams. One red flag with regards to Oklahoma is a 5-6 true road record to go with a 14-3 true home record. If they struggle here, St. Joe's has finished the season on quite a run. They will be a tough out for sure.

Most Likely #6+ Seed To Get To Sweet Sixteen: Butler. I know, Tennessee would be a very tough team to beat. But ignore Butler's #7 seed for a second and look at their #10 ranking in the national polls... they suddenly seem like less of an underdog, don't they? Butler has always been a team that plays everybody tough and doesn't beat itself. They did have a bad habit this season of getting off to slow starts, although part of that was probably a bit of boredom playing so many bad teams. Assuming they play to their abilities, the pressure falls on a Tennessee team that has underperformed in the Tournament in recent years. Again, Tennessee is the favorite, but don't be shocked to see the upset here.


Last Word: Let's face it, UNC is probably getting out of this bracket. Let's face it, they are just the team best built for the Tournament, period. They have so much talent all over the place, even off the bench. They can play any and all styles of basketball. They have pulled out so many close wins. When ahead late, they never miss their free throws. It will be very hard to pick against them at any point in your bracket. But, outside the top two seeds in the East Regional, there could be a lot of chaos everywhere else. If UNC can make it into the Final Four, they become the favorites to win it all. I think they would be the favorite in the a head-to-head Final Four match-up with any other team in the nation.