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March Madness is officially here, so let's fill out some winning brackets! RotoBaller will be bringing you a full breakdown of each tournament region, including some potential sleepers and busts. Today, we'll be taking a look at the East Region and my bracket picks.
I'm here to tell you some teams that I believe in to help you make the right tournament bracket decisions. Below I analyze the top four seeds, a potential bust, and a potential final four candidate. Hopefully, my college basketball predictions can help you win your March Madness pools.
Once you're done here, be sure to also check out the rest of our NCAA Tournament articles and analysis including previews, predictions, sleepers, busts, and guides on how to fill out your bracket, including other predictions for the South, Midwest, and West regions.
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East Region Top Four Seeds
Top four seeds: No. 1 Purdue | N0. 2 Marquette | No. 3 Kansas State | No. 4 Tennessee
Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season title and conference tournament. I always view the Big 10 as weak. They play a much different brand of basketball than most big conferences with a slow methodical pace and the use of a lot of big men. It's easy when you have Zach Edey, who stands at 7' 4" and is the favorite to win Player of the Year.
The big question with them is what happens if Edey gets into foul trouble or they can't knock down threes? Teams will double Edey from the beginning of the game and Purdue will need to knock down shots from beyond the arc. They should get through Memphis or Florida Atlantic in the second round into the Sweet 16 but that's when things get tricky.
Marquette is getting a lot of love after winning not only the Big East regular season title but the tournament, too. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be played at Madison Square Garden, the same location where Marquette won the Big East tournament with a lot of their fans watching. The biggest concern with the Golden Eagles is a lack of forwards and porous defense. They nearly lost to St. John's in the Big East quarterfinals. The Johnnies had 6' 10'' forward Joel Soriano, who really caused Marquette trouble. St. John's came within a missed three of knocking off Marquette in overtime last Thursday.
Kansas State was 16-1 at home, but 4-7 away from home. They'll be playing the first weekend in Greensboro, N.C. If K-State beats Montana State in the opener, they'll face either Kentucky or Providence. That will be a de facto road game for K-State if it's against Kentucky.
Tennessee is an early out. Possibly even in the opener to Louisiana-Lafayette. DraftKings opened the Vols as 14-point favorites and it was quickly bet down to 8.5 before settling at 10.5. Tennessee lost their starting point guard Zakai Zeigler to a torn ACL at the start of March. They've become way too reliant on Santiago Vescovi. They're also led by Rick Barnes, who's 25-26 in the NCAA Tournament. They play very good defense and have the third-fewest points allowed per game with 58, but their offense ranks 197th with 72 points per game.
Most Intriguing First-Round Matchup
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 12 Oral Roberts
You may remember Oral Roberts made a Sweet 16 run two years ago led by point guard Max Abmas. Well, he's back, and he has a 7' 5" center in Connor Vanover with him. The Golden Eagles rolled through their conference, going a perfect 18-0 and bringing a 17-game win streak into the tournament to go with their 30-win season. It's a shame they have to play Duke, the other hottest team in the country, in the first round.
The game will be played in Orlando, so Duke will have the home court edge with more of their fans there. The Blue Devils won the ACC tournament with a great offensive and defensive showing. Kyle Filipowski and Vanover will be a great matchup to watch. At the end of the day, Duke is Duke with much better players.
Bust of the Region
Tennessee is not making it out of the first weekend. Their first-round match against Louisiana is tough, and if they play Duke in the second round, that will be even tougher. In Friday's game against Missouri, they should have won but did not have that go-to scorer when they most needed a bucket.
Dark Horse Play
Could Kentucky really be a dark horse option? When they're a No. 6 seed and only a 4.0-point favorite against No. 11 Providence, perhaps they are. Oscar Tshiebwe returned after they were knocked out by No. 15 St. Peter's in the opening round last year. Kentucky starts two seniors and Tshiebwe, who is a sophomore, plays at such a high level. The Cats will be a favorite over No. 3 Kansas State in the second round and would hold the big man edge against Marquette.
Final Four Pick
Purdue has the best overall team and is built for a run. They've shown all season they can play different types of styles and win in low-scoring or high-scoring affairs. Duke is going to be a popular pick but they've just gotten hot. They were unreliable all season. Purdue will beat Duke in a great Sweet 16 match at Madison Square Garden. If the Boilermakers face Marquette in the Elite Eight, Edey dominates.
More March Madness Analysis
