East regional: Tar Heels still own talent-heavy bracket

The East bracket contains the top-seeded team and perhaps the toughest competition.

North Carolina earned the top seed, but it might face more of a challenge than the other No. 1 seeds — Kansas in the Midwest, Memphis is the South and the UCLA Bruins in the West. It was not long ago that two other teams in the East, No. 3 seed Louisville and No. 2 seed Tennessee, were being discussed as possible top seeds.

Seven of the region's teams are in the most recent Top 25 poll. Five — North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisville, Butler and Notre Dame — are ranked in the Top 15. That's more than any other bracket.

Fifth-seeded Notre Dame may have a nice path to the regional semifinals, as long as the Irish don't suffer another first-round blip like they did last season against Winthrop. They face No. 12 George Mason in the first round, then the winner of No. 4 Washington State vs. No. 13 Winthrop.

Who's hot: Tennessee has won 13 of its last 15 games. One loss was by one point to Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference tournament, and the other was a three-point loss to then-No. 18 Vanderbilt. Chris Lofton is a clutch player whose late-game heroics could pull out close games for the Volunteers.

Who's not: Eighth-seeded Indiana has lost three of its last four, including the regular-season finale to Penn State and its Big Ten tournament opener to Minnesota. Eric Gordon and D.J. White are talents, but the Hoosiers have endured too much turmoil with the departure of coach Kelvin Sampson to overwhelm anyone in the tournament.

Cinderella fellas: Seventh-seeded Butler has lost only three games this season and has played quality opponents. But it won't be easy to weave a fairy tale here. After South Alabama in the first round, the Bulldogs might have to defeat Tennessee, Louisville and North Carolina to reach the Final Four.

Projected regional champion: North Carolina seems nearly certain to advance to the championship game. The Tar Heels are deeper with the return from injury of sophomore guard Ty Lawson and possess one of the best players in college basketball in Tyler Hansbrough. With a 32-2 record and the ACC championship, the Tar Heels also are helped by competing in front of a home crowd, playing the opening rounds in nearby Raleigh, N.C.

Tickets for the NCAA East Regional
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Charlotte, North Carolina
Host: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Ticket Info: SOLD OUT
Ticket Price: $142
Phone: 704/688-9008
Web site: www.charlottebobcatsarena.com
Official Packages: ncaa.com/regionals

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