2008 NCAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS

EAST REGION - Charlotte, NC

1 North Carolina

16 Play-in Winner

8 Indiana

9 Arkansas

North Carolina

Indiana

5 Notre Dame

12 Geo Mason

4 Washington St

13 Winthrop

Notre Dame

Washington St

3 Louisville

14 Boise St

6 Oklahoma

11 St Joseph's

Louisville

St Joseph's

7 Butler

10 South Alabama

2 Tennessee

15 American

Butler

Tennessee

North Carolina

Notre Dame

Louisville

Tennessee

North Carolina

Tennessee

Regional Champ
North Carolina

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE EAST REGION

North Carolina is the team to beat--hard to pick against the Tar Heels in Raleigh and Charlotte & despite being placed against potential #1 seed Tennessee, their path to the Elite Eight should be fairly smooth.
Indiana has underachieved down the stretch, but my personal "rule" for the first two rounds is to go with the team that feels more under-seeded, and that's Indiana in this game. Eric Gordon and DJ White can take the game over; I'm not sure Arkansas has a player who can do the same.
Washington State is a very tough out, but Notre Dame is a tough matchup for Tony Bennett's team. 'Gody needs to protect the paint against Kyle Weaver's drives, but McAlarney and Jackson on the wings are going to be tough for Rochestie and Low to contain.
Butler is perhaps my biggest first-round "lock." And their style matches up very, very well against Tennessee. But I think the Vols are going to be playing with a little bit of a chip on their collective shoulder, and I think they've gotten less respect than they've deserved all year.
Louisville should be safe to reach the Sweet 16, but they've got an awfully tough path to the Final Four, where I might have taken them prior to the announcement of the field...