Maneater Bracketology: East regional breakdown
Here's your East Region breakdown:
Best team: No. 1 Kentucky. Super frosh John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe, backed by vet Patrick Patterson, create so many matchup problems that they'll be hard to bring down before the final.
Contenders: Don't count out West Virginia, which closed the season with a win at Villanova and then went on to win the Big East tournament. After that, though, there aren't too many teams I could see making a run.
Best matchup: No. 5 Temple vs. No. 12 Cornell. The Atlantic 10 champs against the Ivy League's Big Red pits against each other the two most under-seeded teams in the tournament. Temple should have been a No. 3 and Cornell a No. 10. They'll both be out to prove their worth.
Game we want to see: No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 16 East Tennessee State. We can still dream about a Final Four trip for the Tigers, right?
Cinderella: No. 14 Montana. Although Cornell is the popular pick, I can't help but be intrigued by the Grizzlies' run in the Big Sky tournament. If star guard Anthony Johnson can put together another performance like he did in the conference championship game (42 points, 14-14 from the line), Montana could surprise and get through a weak first weekend that features New Mexico, Marquette and Washington.
So, who wins?: Conventional wisdom says Kentucky, the clear second-best team in the nation and a group of players who refuse to lose. But West Virginia also shows that grit, led by Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks, and could get past the Wildcats. I'll pick WVU in the upset.