2022 March Madness East Region: NCAA Men's Tournament Instant Reaction

Selection Sunday is finally here and that means that brackets can officially begin to be filled out. 

The East region of the bracket is led by last year’s National Champion Baylor, who has +1200 odds to repeat. Kentucky is the leader on the other side of the bracket and has better odds to win it all (+1000). The East will also play host to UCLA, who made the Final Four last year. 

The play-in game for this region will feature Wyoming (25-8) and Indiana (20-13) for the No. 12 seed.. Here are the matchups for the rest of the region. 

• No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 Norfolk St.
• No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s
• No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Yale
• No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Akron
• No. 5 St. Mary’s vs. No. 12 Wyoming/Indiana
• No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Virginia Tech
• No. 7 Murray State vs. No. 10 San Francisco
• No. 8 North Carolina. vs. No. 9 Marquette

Pick: Kentucky (+1000 to win National Championship)

Kentucky’s side of the bracket is easier than Baylor’s and I think this will help them tremendously. The Wildcats have one of the most potent offenses in the country. If they can stay close to their regular season level, Kentucky may have an easy matchup by the time the Sweet 16 rolls around. 

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