East Region Preview: Pick To Win, Dark Horse, & Cinderella
East Region Preview
March Madness is here and we will be taking you region by region to break down the matchups to help you with your bets and bracket selections leading up to the action. Let’s take a look at the top seed, a dark horse, a Cinderella, and who we believe will be cutting down the nets in Philadelphia on their way to the Final Four.
Top Seed: #1 Baylor (Final 4 +200)
Despite their one-and-done showing in the Big 12 Tournament, Baylor still snuck in as the fourth #1 seed and are atop the East region. They have been dealt a tough hand due to injuries this season and the availability of second-leading scorer LJ Cryer will be crucial to their hopes of making it to the Final Four. Until then, it feels like there are a few too many landmines in this region for the Bears to be worth picking to be the East’s winner.
Dark Horse: #7 Murray State (Final 4 +3300)
It’s hard to imagine that the team with the least losses in Division I can be considered a dark horse, but Murray State feels slightly under-seeded here. Just two losses for the Racers with one coming to Auburn, as well as their win over Memphis shows this team is for real and the talent is certainly there to make a run.
The backcourt of Tevin Brown and Justice Hill complement each other perfectly, each bringing their own size and ability to the table that has given every opponent fits throughout the season. Frontcourt presence KJ Williams is the offensive focal point and can give it to you in the post, on the drive, or from the perimeter. This trio is a serious matchup problem and is capable of keeping them in games with nearly any team in the country.
The downside of Murray State’s dark-horse candidacy is its path out of the region. A second-round matchup with Kentucky presents a mammoth challenge and would be a shocking upset, but don’t count the Racers out.
Cinderella: #11 Virginia Tech (Final 4 +3300)
The Hokies are one of the hottest teams in the nation after their remarkable run to an ACC Tournament title and I see this as about as favorable of a draw as you can ask for. They take on a Texas team who has lost three straight and really hasn’t found any rhythm this season. The Longhorns are certainly on upset alert here, and a potential date with Purdue in the second round could be closer than most think.
I don’t see the Hokies being able to get past #2 Kentucky in the Sweet 16, but they could certainly cause some destruction in their own pod. They have won 13 of their last 15 games and Saturday’s win over Duke in the ACC Championship Game showed that not only is their offense lethal, but their defense has vastly improved. They can play with anyone.
East Region Winner: #2 Kentucky (Final 4 +200)
You could make the case that Kentucky is just flat-out the best team in this region. The odds certainly say so, as Kentucky is +850 to win the National Championship on BetMGM Sportsbook while Baylor sits at +1200. The Wildcats are finally healthy in their backcourt and have a Player of the Year candidate in Oscar Tshiebwe, a wrecking ball in the paint that no team has found a way to stop this season.
I don’t see anyone that poses a serious threat to Kentucky in the bottom half of this region and a hypothetical matchup with #1 Baylor in the Elite Eight would favor the Wildcats on the spread.
