A Preview of the NCAA East Region

The 5-12 matchup finds Colorado taking on the Georgetown Hoyas, who dismantled Creighton in the Big East Tournament Championship game. Patrick Ewing is trying to bring back the culture from his playing days, as his team won four straight games to get the automatic bid into the Big Dance.

Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports

INDIANAPOLIS - The Michigan Wolverines headline the East region in the Big Dance, led by head coach Juwan Howard. Taking his Fab 5 and NBA experience to his alma mater, Howard has the Maze and Blue as one of the most efficient teams on both offense and defense. One issue that will be looming is the health of forward Isiah Livers, who suffered a stress fracture in his right foot. Livers was second on the team in scoring, shooting over 43% from the field and beyond the arc. 7'1" freshman center Hunter Dickenson leads the Wolverines in scoring and rebounds, and it also has a good complement of guards with Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks.

The first round shouldn't be too difficult against North Texas, but the Wolverines will be tested against the 8-seeded LSU Tigers in the second round. LSU is coming off a one-point loss in the SEC Tournament Championship to Alabama, the two-seed in the East Region. The Tigers have four players averaging double-figures in points, led by freshman guard Cameron Thomas with 22.6 points per game and a field goal percentage of 40.5%. If the Wolverines were to survive, the bottom half of the bracket is very tough.

Despite losing to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Championship game, Leonard Hamilton's Florida State Seminoles have a hard draw in its first round game against Wes Miller's UNC Greensboro Spartans in the 4-13 game. The Seminoles have a lot of size and depth that can cause opponents trouble in the East Region, led by senior guard MJ Walker and junior forward Raiquan Gray. But the bench play of FSU will be the key for the 'Noles to make a deep run. ACC Sixth Man of the Year and future NBA Draft prospect Scottie Barnes is third on the team in scoring and brings unique size and athleticism that allows him to score in multiple ways with his 6'9" frame. Additionally, there's nothing wrong with having 7'0" transfer center from Ryerson University (Canada) Tanor Ngom coming off the bench either to add rim protection. With a win against UNCG, the Seminoles could find itself in the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight.

The 5-12 matchup finds Colorado taking on the Georgetown Hoyas, who dismantled Creighton in the Big East Tournament Championship game. Patrick Ewing is trying to bring back the culture from his playing days, as his team won four straight games to get the automatic bid into the Big Dance. Just from a momentum perspective, the Hoyas will have a great chance to upset Colorado, led by senior guard Jahvon Blair. A win in March Madness will only build momentum for the future for Patrick Ewing's program.

With a comeback effort in the first four, the UCLA Bruins end its four game losing streak in its overtime win against Michigan State. As a result, Mick Cronin's club will take on sixth-seeded BYU. The status of Johnny Juzang will be a storyline, as he scored 21 points in the win against the Spartans. Can the Bruins carry momentum to upset BYU? Sure it can, but it will be tough for the Bruins to stop former Purdue center Matt Haarms who stands at 7'3". Whether the Bruins or the Cougars win its matchup, it will have a difficult time playing against one of the other hot teams in this bracket, the third seeded Texas Longhorns. Shaka Smart has this team playing at a high level, winning the Big 12 Tournament Championship. As many know, great guard play can help a team go far in this tournament, and the Longhorns have that in its backcourt. The story of Andrew Jones, who had Leukemia in 2018 to become the leading scorer on this year's team is truly remarkable. Along with Jones' 18 points per game, Matt Coleman is playing at another level, showing that in the title game against Oklahoma State by dropping a season high 30 points. With the uncertainty of Michigan's health, the Longhorns might have a great shot at making the Final Four in the East, defeating Florida State in the Elite Eight.

The 7-10 matchup features UCONN against Maryland, and will have future NBA prospect James Bouknight on the floor. He's a player that can take over any game if he's hot, having seven games of 20+ points, including a 40 point performance against Creighton. Danny Hurley has UCONN on the right track, but the Huskies will ultimately fall to the outright SEC Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Yes, the Tide are a basketball school this year under SEC Coach of the Year Nate Oats. Alabama is very talented led by a backcourt of Jaden Schackelford, who leads the team in scoring with 14.2 ppg, and Villanova transfer guard Jahvon Quinerly, averaging just over 12 points per contest. Nate Oats' bunch has a chance to contend for a Final Four, but the Texas Longhorns might be the best team in this region to get to the Final Four.