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East Regional Breakdown
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Jeff Goodman
ScoutHoopsExperts.com		Mar 18, 2008

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com breaks down the East Regional for the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Overview

You can make a valid case that you've got the top ACC, SEC and maybe even Big East team in this region. No. 1 seed North Carolina doesn't have an easy road by any means with Tennessee on the other side — and also Louisville, one of the hottest teams over the past month, as the No. 3 seed.

Indiana slipped about as much as anyone — and it'll be interesting to see if all of the drama involving the Hoosiers' former coach, Kelvin Sampson, took too much out of guys like D.J. White and Eric Gordon.

Talk about an advantage. South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow will play No. 7 Butler in nearby Birmingham, and if the Jaguars win that one, they'd get No. 2 Tennessee near home.

Breakdowns

East

South

West

Midwest

Best first-round matchup

No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Arkansas — The Hoosiers, in the aftermath of the mess involving Sampson, will go up against a Razorbacks team that advanced to the SEC title game.

Best potential matchup

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Tennessee — This could be a track meet if it goes down. Both teams love to play as fast as possible.

Upset special

No. 12 George Mason over No. 5 Notre Dame — I'm fairly certain that the Patriots have a little bit of tournament experience after their magical Final Four run two years ago. The Irish can score with anyone, but they'll need to defend.

Cinderella?

Saint Joseph's — Phil Martelli is a heck of a coach and he's got a talented big man in Ahmad Nivins and a versatile forward in Pat Calathes. The Hawks played well enough down the stretch to secure an at-large bid.

My pick

North Carolina — Now that Ty Lawson is healthy, the Tar Heels are back. They struggled in the ACC tournament, but Roy Williams still has a core of Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington.

Storylines

Indiana interim coach Dan Dakich and whether he can take the Hoosiers far enough to keep the job on a permanent basis. The Tar Heels' health. Ty Lawson is still getting back from an ankle injury, Marcus Ginyard is banged up and so is Deon Thompson. Can George Mason have another magical run?

Five players to watch

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.

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