Here’s a look at the NCAA tournament East region:
Hot team: Murray State
The Racers might be the hottest team in the entire tournament, winning 13 in a row. And they’re no strangers to surprising runs.
Murray State won tournament games in 2010 and 2012, including an upset of 4-seed Vanderbilt. Now they enter the dance with the nation’s longest winning streak.
In fact, the closest call the Racers have had during their run was a six-point win against Morehouse State. Their last loss came to Belmont in January, and Murray State extracted revenge with a 17-point win on Saturday.
Top 5 players:
G Jalen Brunson, Villanova: A national player of the year candidate, Brunson is the heart of Villanova and can take over the game at any moment. More often than not, Villanova will always have the best player on the floor between Brunson and his teammate, Mikal Bridges.
G/F Mikal Bridges, Villanova: Bridges is the ideal 3-and-D player and is coming off Big East tournament most valuable player honors. The Wildcats have seen him develop from bench player on the 2016 championship team to a leader on the 2018 No. 1 seed. Bridges can match up with anyone and occasionally take on scoring responsibilities.
G Carsen Edwards, Purdue: Edwards is the young gun on a veteran-laden Boilmakers lineup, but he's also the best. The sharpshooter dropped 40 on Illinois in February and like Brunson, can take over a game at any time. He pairs with Dakota Mathias to make one of the best 1-2 shooting duos.
G Collin Sexton, Alabama: The Atlanta-native Sexton might be the first point guard selected in June's NBA draft. He's a hard-nosed, aggressive player who first caught eyes when he scored 40 in a 3-on-5 against Minnesota. Sexton hit a game-winner in the SEC tournament and gave credence to those who believe Alabama is a potential darkhorse.
G Jevon Carter: A top-tier defender, Carter can will West Virginia to wins. He's a big part of why the program has experienced a revival in the past few seasons. The Mountaineers couldn't keep pace with Kansas in the Big 12 title game, but any run they make in the tournament will begin and end with Carter.
Biggest surprise: The bracket is loaded with veteran teams
It’s appropriate that Villanova’s bracket consists of experienced rosters. In the age of one-and-done, the East region has captured schools who win without recruiting the next NBA hotshot.
Villanova, Purdue, Texas Tech and Wichita State aren’t usually mentioned in the recruiting battles for the Marvin Bagleys or DeAndre Aytons. Butler, West Virginia, Florida and Virginia Tech are all seasoned and could conceivable make a run.
Maybe that makes Sexton an X-factor, given that he’s the only likely one-and-done that could easily become the best player on the court.
Best shooter: Dakota Mathias, Purdue
Best rebounder: Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
Best defender: Jevon Carter, West Virginia, or Mikal Bridges, Villanova
Upset special: Butler over Arkansas, Alabama over Virginia Tech
The Bulldogs are coming in with their lowest seed since 2003. They were lost in the shuffle of a strong conference, similar to Arkansas.
The Razorbacks’ ceiling is dependent on Gafford. If he continues to play as he did in the past five games, averaging 14 points to go with his rebounding and defense, they won’t be an early exit.
Alabama is a nice play if you believe in schools that play solid team-defense and feature one lead scorer; think Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier UConn teams. But the 8 vs. 9 isn’t much of an upset, and Virginia Tech has proven it can beat the country’s elite.
Murray State, as hot as it’s been, runs into a veteran team emphasizing defense. On paper, that looks like a tough draw.
