East Region Bracket

Nothing Could Be Finer...

The East Region is home to the tournament's top overall seed -- the ACC champion North Carolina Tar Heels -- and the field's lowest -- the Coppin State Eagles, who lost 17 of 18 games at one point this season but rebounded to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.

For their trouble, they get an invite to play Northeast Conference champions Mount St. Mary's in the opening round game in Dayton on Tuesday night -- for the honor to meet the mighty Heels in the round of 64.

Most Intriguing First-Round Matchup

The selection committee did seventh-seed Butler no favors. The Bulldogs will face the tenth-seeded Jaguars of South Alabama in a game to be played in Birmingham. That venue is the primary reason we like the Jaguars to advance.

Upset Potential

I'm picking Notre Dame to advance and meet North Carolina in the round of 16. The Fighting Irish will represent a really interesting matchup for the Tar Heels -- they're a teriffic outside shooting team (Duke beat UNC with a barrage of threes earlier this season) and in Big East player of the year Luke Harangody, they have a big man who will match up remarkably well with Tyler Hansbrough.

I don't think the Irish will win. I do think they'll put a real scare into Roy Williams and company.

On the other side of the bracket, St. Joe's finished the season very strong before losing in the A-10 final. I like them to knock off Oklahoma in the opening round.

The Regional Final

I think Louisville is one of the worst possible matchups for Tennessee -- the Cardinals have a deep, athletic and flexible roster that can deal with all the different looks Bruce Pearl and the Vols will use. I'm picking the Cardinals to advance to the Elite Eight, but Carolina is my pick to win this region.

Round 1	Round 2	Sweet 16	Elite 8
1) North Carolina
16) Mt. St. Mary's*	North Carolina
8) Indiana	Arkansas
9) Arkansas		North Carolina
5) Notre Dame		Notre Dame
12) George Mason	Notre Dame
4) Washington St.	Washington St.
13) Winthrop			North Carolina
6) Oklahoma			Louisville
11) St. Joseph's	St. Joseph's
3) Louisville	Louisville
14) Boise State		Louisville
7) Butler		Tennessee
10) South Alabama	South Alabama
2) Tennessee	Tennessee
15) American