NCAA Tournament - East Region Breakdown
- Tuesday, March 15, 2011 4:39 PM
- Written By: AccuScore
EAST REGION (Newark)
Top seed: Ohio State
The Buckeyes are the number one overall seed in the tournament, but the committee did them no favors with a stacked bracket awaiting them. They are grouped with the best 4-seed in Kentucky and the best 7-seed in Washington as well as national powers North Carolina and Syracuse. Despite the strong competition, Ohio State is still the clear favorite in the East and has played some of the most consistent basketball of any team in the country. It has a 28.42 percent chance of advancing to Houston, third best among the top seeds.
Underseeded: Washington
The Huskies played erratic basketball this season finishing third in the Pac-10, but have the talent level of a top 4-seed. That bears out in the simulations as they have an 8.43 percent chance of winning the region which is better than all but the top 16 overall seeds. If Washington can get by North Carolina in the third round, it would be favored against both 3-seed Syracuse and 6-seed Xavier.
Team to avoid: West Virginia
The Mountaineers have the most losses of any 5-seed in the tournament (11) and finished 7th in the Big East. While they are still a strong team, the tough bracket makes it unlikely for them to advance deep into the tournament. They are just the eighth most likely team to win the East (3.86 percent) behind even 8-seed George Mason
Mighty mid-major: George Mason
While the Patriots didn’t win the Colonial tournament, they did win the regular season title by a full two games and had won 16 straight games before losing to VCU. They are 61 percent favorites to win in the second round against Villanova.
