The North Carolina Tar Heels were announced as the number one seed in the East region of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. This region is considered by many to be the toughest. North Carolina, Xavier, Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana all loom as potential final four teams. Which team will get the only spot?
Brief Analysis
Can Roy Williams win another championship for Tar Heel Nation? North Carolina emerged as both the ACC regular season and conference tournament champions in 2016. This team is battle-tested and has a very strong resume. A favorite to win the whole thing by many, North Carolina played one of their best games of the year in their victory over Virginia (another one seed) on Saturday night. However…
Indiana and Kentucky are right next to each other. After a shocking loss to Michigan, Indiana must gather itself for a tournament run. Kentucky is fresh off an SEC Championship and is vastly under-seeded. Many assumed both teams would make deep tournament runs, but now only one will make it to the Sweet 16. If either does, they will give their best shot to take down North Carolina. Three of college basketball’s best programs will battle for that Elite Eight spot. Des Moines is a lucky city.
Will anybody be able to handle West Virginia’s defense? Press Virginia is as good as they come on defense in terms of forcing turnovers and have a very deep and talented team. After a big win over Oklahoma, the team fell just short in essentially a road game in the Big-12 Finals to top seed Kansas. Expect Bob Huggins to make a deep run with this squad.
Can any of the double-digit seeds pull off upsets in the East? Stephen F. Austin, Chattanooga and Stony Brook all dominated their conferences and are all potential Cinderellas. However, they each have very tough draws in the opening round. Will a favorite fall early as they often do in March? Or will the big boys assert their dominance in the East Region. We will know by Friday night.
Here are the first round match-ups:
Thursday March 17, 2016 –
PNC Arena – Raleigh, North Carolina
1 – North Carolina Tar Heels (28-6)
16 – Winner of Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (20-13) and Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (18-14)
Friday March 18, 2016 –
Scottrade Center – Saint Louis, Missouri
2 – Xavier Musketeers (27-5)
15 – Weber State Wildcats (26-8)
Friday March 18, 2016 –
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York
3 – West Virginia Mountaineers (26-8)
14 – Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (27-5)
Thursday March 17, 2016 –
Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, Iowa
4 – Kentucky Wildcats (26-8)
13- Stony Brook Seawolves (26-6)
Thursday March 17, 2016 –
Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, Iowa
5 – Indiana Hoosiers (25-7)
12 – Chattanooga Mocs (29-5)
Friday March 18, 2016 –
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York
6 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-11)
11 – Winner of Michigan Wolverines (22-12) and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (20-11)
Friday March 18, 2016 –
Scottrade Center – Saint Louis, Missouri
7 – Wisconsin Badgers (20-12)
10 – Pittsburgh Panthers (21-11)
Thursday March 17, 2016 –
PNC Arena – Raleigh, North Carolina
8 – Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-12)
9 – Butler Bulldogs (21-10)
