2025 March Madness Preview: East Region
East Region
Overall Analysis
This region is headlined by Duke and Alabama, and I’m not really sure who else has a chance to advance out of here. Duke got bit by the injury bug late, but it appears Cooper Flagg avoided disaster and as long as he plays they are the best team in the country. Maliq Brown is a big loss, but this is the best roster top to bottom in America and if anyone can survive an extended absence from him it’s the Blue Devils.
Alabama was also bit late by the injury bug, with Grant Nelson exiting the SEC Tournament with a knee injury. Nate Oates sounded confident that he will be okay, and avoided disaster which is huge. Nelson is one of the most impactful players for this Bama team and I believe they would be very vulnerable to an early upset without him. I have the top four seeds night and day above the field - but Alabama and Texas Tech are the next closest to them so I think they are more than capable of a Final 4 run assuming health. They went to the Final 4 last year despite a defense ranked outside the top 100 on KenPom – this year they feature a top-35 defensive unit but have also not been as lethal from deep.
I’m not the biggest fan of Wisconsin or Arizona – and I believe this to be a very top-heavy region that likely sees Duke as the representing team.
Potential Cinderella: VCU Rams
VCU is a team I like a lot that fits the same mold of historic double-digit seeds that we’ve seen make deep runs in the tournament. They also received a pretty favorable draw in my opinion, with a path they can certainly take advantage of to the Sweet 16. This is a slow paced team, that is very efficient on offense and a good defensive unit as well. Headlined by Max Shulga, a top-15 player in the country per EvanMiya’s player rating system, I think they are much better than an 11 seed. They draw a tough match-up in altitude vs BYU to start out, but their defense should be able to run BYU off the three point line making them uncomfortable. If they get past round one I won’t be shocked to see them string along 2-4 wins.
Pick to Advance: Duke Blue Devils
Written by Ben Hossler