East Region (Newark)
Wichita
1.) Iowa State vs. 16.) Little Rock/Southern
8.) Georgia vs. 9.) Cincinnati
Providence
5.) Purdue vs. 12.) Liberty
4.) Baylor vs. 13.) Furman
Providence
6.) Clemson vs. 11.) Texas
3.) UConn vs. 14.) Kent State
Cleveland
7.) Dayton vs. 10.) Ohio State
2.) Duke vs. 15.) Milwaukee
Last year, one of the big knocks against the No. 1 seed in the East region, Iowa State, was their 324th-ranked non-conference schedule. This season, T.J. Otzelberger fixed that with the 58th-best record that included a 3-1 record in quad 1 games; the only loss was a two-point loss in Maui to the best team in the country, Auburn. The Cyclones’ metric average is 9.3 and with Big 12 play on tap, their predictive metrics are even better at 6.3. They are the league’s best team, and if they hold on to that moniker, they will earn this No. seed and maybe more than that.
T.J. Otzelberger has built a Big 12 juggernaut in his short time in Ames, but the path to a Final Four includes a young and exciting Duke team that just missed out on a No. 1 seed as the No. 2 seed and the two-time defending champs UConn who are hitting their stride in search of a three-peat as the No. 3 seed. Also lurking are a couple of teams that know how to win in March, with No. 4 Baylor and No. 5 Purdue.
Brad Brownell looks like he’s doing it again at Clemson. The Tigers may be the second-best team in the ACC after a 10-3 start that includes a win over Kentucky. They only have one “bad” loss, a double-digit loss at Boise State; the others have come by an average of four points. Even though it looks as though the opportunities for big wins in league play will be slim, doing work on the road will be big for Clemson.