NCAA Tournament East Region: Odds, Sleepers, Pick For Bracket
Baylor's path back to the Final Four is a tough one
Baylor finally broke through last spring and won their long-awaited national championship. Could they pull off an NCAA Tournament encore this year?
The Bears are the No. 1 seed in the East region, but they’ll have plenty of opposition from a whole host of bluebloods, including Kentucky, UCLA and North Carolina.
Here’s a preview of the East region.
East region field:
(With odds to win region via DraftKings Sportsbook)
1. Baylor +200
2. Kentucky +200
3. Purdue +450
4. UCLA +450
5. Saint Mary’s +1800
6. Texas +1400
7. Murray State +4000
8. North Carolina +2500
9. Marquette +6000
10. San Francisco +3500
11. Virginia Tech +2500
12. Indiana (+5000)/Wyoming (+15000)
13. Akron +20000
14. Yale +20000
15. Saint Peter’s +25000
16. Norfolk State +25000
Player to watch: Kentucky guard TyTy Washington
The ceiling is quite high for Washington, who is projected by some to be a top-10 draft pick in June. An ankle injury has slowed him for much of the season, but he looks healthy now. Washington went off for a season-high 25 in the SEC semifinals and then added 17 in the finals. If he’s right, UK could be headed to New Orleans.
East region sleeper: No. 10 San Francisco
Truthfully, we thought about using both No. 7 Murray State and the Dons as co-sleepers, so to speak, because the winner of that game has the ability to go on a deep run. San Francisco gets the slight edge, simply because it’s easier to call the 10-seed more of a sleeper. If they can get by the Racers, the Dons have the kind of defense that can give anyone fits. Not only would San Francisco-Kentucky second-round matchup be great given the history of the two programs, but we’ve seen John Calipari come up short in the tournament with the far more talented team plenty of times. Don’t be surprised if you see San Francisco in the Sweet 16 — assuming they get out of the first round.
Upset alert: No. 6 Texas versus No. 11 Virginia Tech
Really, you just need to look at the betting line where the Longhorns were favored by a single point as of Monday afternoon. The Hokies are surging at the right time, winning the ACC to enter the tournament on a hot streak.
Pick to win East: No. 4 UCLA (+450)
Going off the KenPom efficiency numbers, the Bruins are closer to a 2-seed than they are a 4-seed. They scuffled at times this season, but it’s not like the other contenders don’t have holes. Baylor isn’t as good as it was last year, Kentucky doesn’t always equal the sum of its parts, and Purdue’s defense is legitimately bad. Mick Cronin is a tournament veteran whose team has wins over Villanova, Marquette, Arizona and USC this season. And on paper, the top half of the East region looks like the easier draw.
