East Region: Traditional powers assemble in Philadelphia

Tournament history runs deep throughout region

The blue bloods have assembled in the East.

UCLA, Kentucky and North Carolina are all in this region, which will conclude in Philadelphia.

Those are the programs with the most national championships in college basketball history, boasting 25 trophies between the three schools.

Oh, and the top seed just happens to be defending national champion Baylor.

Bears coach Scott Drew said there’s no time to analyze how deep the region looks on paper as his team gets to work trying to defend the title.

“No matter what regional you look at, no matter what game you look at, that’s a tough game,” he said. “There’s a lot of parity in college basketball. They call it March Madness for a reason. Sometimes, you look at the numbers and 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, they look like a big difference, when us coaches know there’s really not that big of a difference. So survive and advance. You better be ready to go, or otherwise you’re going home.”

Four players to watch

■ Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky — The last major-conference player to average at least 16 points and 15 rebounds for an entire season, as Tshiebwe did this year, was Bill Walton for UCLA back in 1972-73. That’s elite company. The last time Tshiebwe failed to reach double figures in rebounds was on New Year’s Eve when he had just eight against High Point, but that’s only because he was limited to 25 minutes because the score was out of hand.

■ Zach Edey, Purdue — It won’t be hard to find him on the floor. Edey stands 7 foot 4 inches tall and makes life difficult for any opponent who dares go into the lane. He took a big step forward this year after getting pushed around way too much as a freshman. Edey averages 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds while making nearly 66 percent of his shots.

■ Azar Swain, Yale — Even though the Bulldogs have technically won back-to-back Ivy League titles, Swain is the only player from the current roster who was on the floor for the Bulldogs’ last tournament appearance in 2019. There was no champion named in 2020 and the league canceled the 2021 season. Swain is a major reason Yale is back in the tournament. He scored 19.3 points per game and can get his shot in a variety of ways,

■ K.J. Williams, Murray State — The Ohio Valley Conference player of the year led the league in scoring at 18.2 points per game and finished second with 8.6 rebounds per contest. His efforts helped the Racers become just the sixth Ohio Valley team to go unbeaten in conference play and just the second of those teams to go on to win the tournament title and the automatic bid.

Three potential matchups

■ Baylor vs. UCLA, Sweet 16 — Two Final Four teams from last year end up in the same region and could play each other in the third round. The Bruins are actually far better on paper than last year’s team that entered the tournament as a No. 11 seed and made a surprising run. While the Bears have been among the best teams in the country all season and hope to make a successful title run, their injuries have started to mount and they enter the tournament short-handed.

■ Texas vs. Purdue, second round — Chris Beard has made a rapid rise in the coaching ranks that includes a very quick stop in Las Vegas. But before Texas and Texas Tech and UNLV, the win that put him on the map was when he guided Arkansas-Little Rock to a shocking upset of Purdue in 2016. The Boilermakers could get a shot at revenge against Beard on the opening weekend of the tournament should they both get through the first round.

■ North Carolina vs. Kentucky, Elite Eight — Two of the bluest of blue bloods could meet for the fifth time in the NCAA Tournament. The four previous meetings have all happened in this same round, with the Tar Heels winning three times. Kentucky’s win came in 2011, while North Carolina won in 1977, 1995 and 2017.

Two bracket busters

■ Murray State — K.J. Williams is the kind of dynamic playmaker who can make a smaller conference team a dangerous opponent this time of year. When he is joined by a running mate like Tevin Brown, it’s the type of combination that can absolutely blow up brackets. Brown has tournament experience too. He was a freshman when Ja Morant became an instant star with his performances for the Racers in 2019. Murray State has won 18 straight games and is efficient offensively.

■ Virginia Tech — Computer numbers and some oddsmakers around town will suggest the Hokies were under-seeded by the committee. If only games from Jan. 26 on mattered, Virginia Tech would certainly be looking at a much lower number next to its name. After starting 10-10 and 2-7 in league, the Hokies are 13-2 and coming off an ACC tournament championship. The turnaround has been spurred by excellent 3-point shooting and defense, a key of Mike Young’s teams.

Last team standing

Purdue

Virginia Tech is actually tempting. The Hokies should provide a stiff test for the Boilermakers in the second round, should they meet. Purdue has been disappointing on the defensive end, but will be dangerous if it can figure things out even a little on that end of the floor. The good news for Matt Painter’s team is the rest of the region is just as flawed. Baylor enters the tournament short-handed due to injuries, and Kentucky just can’t shoot the ball. While there are several good teams, this region certainly has the possibility of a long shot coming through.

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal