The NCAA Tournament is now upon us. In the buildup to the opening round, theScore is previewing each region to get you prepared to pick your bracket. Today, we focus on the East Region after looking at the Midwest and South yesterday.
Top teams
No. 1 Duke
If you believe what Duke and the ACC told the tournament selection committee, Cooper Flagg will be good to go for the opening-round game. That was probably an important message to send ahead of the bracket release, but Flagg's health shouldn't matter for the opening week. Provided he's back to full strength for the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils should be the overwhelming favorite to make it out of the East. Duke's offense is once again outstanding, but their real strength this year is on defensive side of the ball. KenPom ranks Duke as the nation's fourth-best defensive squad, largely based on Flagg's relentless pressure at that end of the floor. However, Duke is far from a one-man band - Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor are more than capable of carrying the offense.
No. 2 Alabama
The Crimson Tide are gonna shoot early and often to try to overwhelm their opponent. Nobody gets down the court faster than Nate Oats' program, which boasts 78 possessions per game - the best in the nation. Led by star guard Mark Sears, Alabama takes 30 triples per game with five players attempting at least 95 on the season. If that's happening, it's nearly impossible to beat the Crimson Tide. However, if Bama goes cold from deep, they're ripe for an upset. Add the health questions of second-leading scorer Grant Nelson, and it's tough to predict how far the Tide could go.
No. 3 Wisconsin
The third-ranked Badgers are a bit of an offensive juggernaut. Most of that breakout is thanks to star John Tonje, who's putting up almost 20 points per game after transferring in from Missouri. Tonje had a brilliant run in the Big Ten tourney before going 1-for-14 from the field in the title game loss to Michigan. Tonje will need to shine, but the Badgers' supporting cast will have to rise if they have a shot of getting past Alabama in a possible Sweet 16 contest.
Bracket-busters
No. 10 Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt will have had a lengthy break before the opening-round game versus Saint Mary's after losing to Texas early in the SEC Tournament. The Commodores are unique in that they don't roster a significant player over 6-foot-8. However, they're battle-tested from the loaded SEC slate and feature a head coach in Mark Byington, who pulled off a first-round upset last year with James Madison. The key in Round 1 will be to speed the Gaels up from the snail's pace they usually operate at - they rank 359th out of 364 teams in the country in tempo.
No. 13 Akron
The Akron-Arizona matchup could be one of the most entertaining of the opening two days. Both teams play fast - they're top 12 in the tournament in tempo - and are among the highest-scoring programs in the entire country. The Zips are a sparkling 21-1 in their last 22 contests and have been scorching the nets all season. Arizona is always up for a shootout, and that could play right into the hands of the Zips, who shoot 36% from deep.
Players to watch
Cooper Flagg
When we'll actually see Flagg and what version of the nation's top player we get are two major questions facing Duke. If Flagg is healthy, he's potentially the biggest game-breaker in the tournament. Flagg has lived up to the hype and then some in his freshman season, averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Mark Sears
Sears showed what he was capable of in the NCAA Tournament last year in helping to take Alabama to the Final Four. The senior guard made a whopping 45% of his triples during that run - an astonishingly high number considering he took 44 in five contests. He's back leading the nation's fastest offense and looking to make another deep run.
Caleb Love
Love was crucial to North Carolina's title run in the 2022 tournament, pouring in 30 points in the Sweet 16 and 28 in the national semifinal. Unfortunately, that success didn't follow him to Arizona for last year's run - he made just 6-of-29 triples in the tournament. Now in his final collegiate adventure, the Wildcats will need 2022 Love to appear if they're going to survive the first weekend of action.
