2011 EAST REGION PREDICTIONS
The predictions below are my own personal analysis and no particular degree of confidence should be placed in any of them. I highly recommend using my friends at Team Rankings' Bracket Brains product instead--those guys are the real experts.
EAST REGION - Newark, NJ
1 Ohio State
16 UTSA / Ala St
8 George Mason
9 Villanova
Ohio State
George Mason
5 West Virginia
12 Clemson / UAB
4 Kentucky
13 Princeton
West Virginia
Kentucky
3 Syracuse
14 Indiana State
6 Xavier
11 Marquette
Syracuse
Marquette
7 Washington
10 Georgia
2 North Carolina
15 Long Island
Washington
North Carolina
Ohio State
Kentucky
Syracuse
North Carolina
Ohio State
Syracuse
Regional Champ
Ohio State
Ohio State
GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE EAST REGION
- SLEEPER ALERT: Has to be the Washington Huskies, fresh off a great run to the Pac-10 Championship and with the experience of making the Sweet 16 last season. North Carolina didn't exactly close the season strong in the ACC Tournament and the Heels should be on notice for their second-round opponent.
- The cameras might want to stay off the sideline views for the prospective West Virginia - Kentucky second round matchups. Or else change the MPAA rating to R.
- I like Syracuse to make the elite eight here. The Orange have closed the season extremely well & Rick Jackson has stepped up big inside for Jim Boeheim the last several games. Scoop Jardine proved he can make shots in the clutch, and SU is a tough team to scout on the defensive side of the ball.
- In the end, I think Ohio State probably has one of the easier roads to the Final Four of all the #1 seeds. Which they've earned, as the overall #1.