2017 NCAA Basketball Tournament: East Region Capsule

Mar 11, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Grayson Allen (3) cuts the net after defeating against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the ACC Conference Tournament Final at Barclays Center. Duke Blue Devils won 75-69. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

2017 NCAA Tournament: East Region Capsule

The 2017 NCAA Tournament brackets are out! The brackets are out! The NCAA tournament is the single greatest spectacle in American Sports. Yeah, the World Series is fun to watch, but it rarely has the chaos involved in the NCAA tournament. Daytona 500? Yeah, it’s a historic event, but they are still driving in a circle. The Super Bowl? Don’t even get me started on what a farce that is. The first four days of the NCAA tournament are better than any drama anywhere for the rest of the year! Enjoy it!

More from College Basketball Odds

For those of you that do the bracket games, I will unveil all of my picks by Wednesday night. For those of you that play the round by round games, I will also put my picks out there after every round as well. There will be something for everyone!

In the preview, I will give you a favorite, and dark horse team (which would be a four seed or higher than could win the region),a team to watch for, overseeded and underseeded teams, and of course, a double digit seed most likely to win one or more games.

We will get started with the East regional!

Mar 12, 2017; Hartford, CT, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs guard Sterling Brown (3) celebrates their championship win over the Cincinnati Bearcats during the AAC Conference Tournament at XL Center. SMU defeated Cincinnati 71-56. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Favorite: Villanova. The Wildcats had the most wins by a defending champion in NCAA history this season. Even with the target on their back, Villanova only lost to Butler and Marquette. Ryan Arcidiacono, one of the clutch players from the tournament run last year, is gone. Villanova still has Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins, who hit the game winning shot against UNC (thanks @pakman888 for the correction!). If they have a weakness, it’s that they are a little small on the interior. They have arguably the toughest road to a repeat. The thank you letter from Jay Wright is on the way to the NCAA offices as we speak….

Watch out for: Duke. The Blue Devils won the ACC tournament, and still didn’t get a one seed. There are arguments for both sides, and I see the validity of both. However, Duke got a solid draw for the most part here. There is a lot of talent on this team, and it seems that the only team that can beat them is Duke.

Dark Horse: SMU. The Mustangs certainly live up to their billing. They love to run, and they still only have six guys that play big minutes. SMU has not lost since January 15th while playing in a pretty good conference. Semi Ojeleye is one of the most accomplished scorers in the field. They will have their hands full against a rough and tumble Baylor squad in the second round, but if they get out of that, they have a puncher’s chance against anyone else in this bracket.

Begging To Be Upset: Virginia. UNC-Wilmington is a terrible draw for the Cavs. The Seahawks are tenth in the country in points per game. Sure, the Cavs have a good defense, but much the same as last year, they lack explosiveness on offense. If the Seahawks get going, it could be an early exit for UVA.

Overseeded: Florida. The Gators only beat one ranked team, Kentucky at home. They are also without John Egbunu, which is a big loss for them on the inside. Oregon was seeded down for missing a key piece. Florida was not. That said, Florida is going to have their hands full with East Tennessee State. T.J. Cromer can play with any guard that Florida has.

Underseeded: Wisconsin. I know, reading this you would think that I’m a Big Ten(14) fan. That said, Wisconsin’s body of work deserved better than this. Not only that, Villanova should be upset that the Badgers are here. For the number one overall seed to have to play a team like this to get to the Sweet 16 is a bit absurd.

Cinderella: UNC-Wilmington. New Mexico State is going to be a trendy pick because of Baylor’s back to back choke jobs in the first round. However, I think the Bears are due. They look better this year than they have in quite some time. I hinted at this earlier, but the Seahawks are the type of team that can knock off a plodding team like Virginia. They also have a great chance to advance to New York!

Next: DraftKings Picks For March 13

Come back for all of the regional capsules, the picks for the First Four, and of course, the bracket picks!