NCAA Tournament Bracket 2019: East Region – Top seed, potential upsets, schedule

March Madness has begun, and the 2019 East Region has been revealed, headlined by the tournament’s no. 1 overall seed, the Duke Blue Devils.

Now that the buildup is done, it’s time to dive right into the East Regional at the NCAA Tournament. This region is the home to the top overall seed in the field, the Duke Blue Devils, who look like they are back in top form after winning the ACC Tournament over the weekend.

Duke’s biggest roadblock could be no. 2 seed Michigan State, which won the Big Ten’s regular season and conference tournament crowns but were snubbed from the top line. The Spartans are a battle-tested bunch headlined by junior point guard Cassius Winston, the Big Ten’s player of the year.

The no. 3 seed in the East belongs to LSU, which is a bit of a question mark playing without suspended coach Will Wade. Virginia Tech claimed the no. 4 seed in this bracket, and their reward for that was a matchup against A-10 champs Saint Louis, who punched their ticket to the dance this afternoon.

There are two potential upsets to watch here, beginning with the 5-12 matchup between Mississippi State and Liberty. The Flames won the Atlantic Sun Tournament over Lipscomb and have 28 wins this season, making them a worthy challenger for the Bulldogs.

The other notable upset could come with the winner of the First Four matchup between Belmont and Temple, both slotted as 11-seeds, taking on no. 6 seed Maryland. The Terrapins were just upset in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and could run into trouble against a terrific Belmont squad, which survived the bubble and has a went 26-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 8-9 game in this region features a pair of tricky teams in VCU and UCF, while the 7-10 game features Louisville and Minnesota, with the winner there set to presumably battle the Spartans in the second round.

The First Four games take place on March 19 and 20 in Dayton, with first round action kicking off on March 21 and 22 at regional sites throughout the country.

The Final Four will be played in Minneapolis on April 6, with the championship game scheduled for April 8.