The NCAA tournament is finally upon us. The brackets were set on Sunday, and March Madness mania started minutes after. Millions of college basketball fans filled their brackets out, even though they knew they would be crumpling the paper up, and throwing it in the trash days later.
One of the four regions that fans will be filling out in their brackets is the East region, which will be the focal point of this preview.
2015 NCAA Tournament Preview: East Region
First Round:
#11 Boise State v. #11 Dayton — March 18th, 9:10pm (truTV)
Boise State (25-8 overall, 14-4 conference) and Dayton (25-8, 13-5 conference) are very similar teams. Both play excellent defense, and can get hot on offense. The game — located in Columbus, Ohio — is essentially a home game for the Flyers, a team many thought got jipped in the seeding. The Broncos will look for senior guard Derrick Marks (19.3 points per game, 44 3PT%) to lead them past a pro-Dayton crowd.
Prediction: Dayton Flyers
Second Round:
#1 Villanova v. #16 Lafayette — March 19th, 6:50pm (TBS)
The Villanova Wildcats had one of the quietest, good years in the country this season, mostly because they do not have a “star” that leads them to victory every game. They play team-oriented basketball, and are extremely experienced. Lafayette is a good offensive team because they take high-quality shots. The Leopards are 8th in the country in field goal percentage at 49 percent. Expect Lafayette to hang around for awhile, especially if they are hitting their shots early.
Prediction: Villanova Wildcats
#8 North Carolina State v. #9 LSU — March 19th, 9:20pm (TBS)
Both teams are essentially limping into the NCAA tournament, but if they are playing well, they can beat anyone in their region. NC State and LSU will look to get up and down the court, and put some points on the board, so expect a shootout where consistency will be key. Not getting to high or low has been a problem for LSU this season, and you have to think some of North Carolina’s tough wins will come back to help them through this one.
Prediction: North Carolina State Wolfpack
#5 Northern Iowa v. #12 Wyoming — March 20th, 1:40pm (TBS)
The Cowboys of Wyoming have been a much better team since getting star player Larry Nance Jr. back from mono, which sidelined him for much of the winter this season. The problem for Wyoming is their facing an underseeded Northern Iowa team that dominated the Mountain Valley Conference this season. They have a star of their own, Seth Tuttle, and they surround him with knockdown shooters that will give problems to a good Cowboy defense.
Prediction: Northern Iowa Panthers
#4 Louisville v. #13 UC Irvine — March 20th, 4:10pm (TBS)
UC Irvine earned their first NCAA tournament bid when they won the Big West conference tournament, and are rewarded with facing a Louisville team that has won four of their last six games in a loaded ACC conference. The Cardinals will pressure the hell out of Irvine, and have bodies to match-up with Irvine’s 7’6” Mamadou N’diaye.
Prediction: Louisville Cardinals
#6 Providence v. #11 Dayton — March 20th, 9:57pm (truTV)
Another seemingly home game for Dayton, I will be taking the Flyers to upset the Friars. Providence starts two big-time players in Kris Dunn and LaDontae Henton, but all it takes is one bad game from one of those two for Providence to struggle. Dayton had a cinderella-type March last season, and it could easily happen again this season.
Prediction: Dayton Flyers
#3 Oklahoma v. #14 Albany — March 20th, 7:27pm (truTV)
The Sooners come into this game winning nine of their last twelve, but also face a streaking Albany team that has won 19 of their last 20. Of course, Albany plays in the American East, which is not exactly the Big 12. Oklahoma will dominate the boards in this game. That will prove to be the key of the game when Albany cannot get any second chance points, or defensive rebounds for that matter.
Prediction: Oklahoma Sooners
#7 Michigan State v. #10 Georgia — March 20th, 12:40pm (truTV)
Michigan State is coming into this game winning nine of their last twelve, and was a couple inches from winning back-to-back Big Ten tournament championships. Georgia has been dealing with nagging injuries for the past month or so, but will look to be healthy by Friday’s game. It’s always hard to count out a Tom Izzo team in March, though. The Spartans rank 4th in the country in assists per game, and that will help them shred the Bulldogs’ defense.
Prediction: Michigan State Spartans
#2 Virginia v. #15 Belmont — March 20th, 3:10pm (truTV)
The Cavaliers had a one-seed worthy year, but was put on a two-line after a 1-2 finish to their season. They are facing the team that infamously kept Murray State out of the tournament, the Belmont Bruins. The Bruins shoot the deep ball incredibly well (and often), so I would expect Tony Bennett to adjust his defense to shade their three-point shooting ability. Virginia might have a tough time against this team, so beware, but don’t expect, an early upset.
Prediction: Virginia Cavaliers
