Purdue is the No. 1 seed in the East Region after beating Penn State 67-65 to claim the Big Ten champion.
Looking to advance to the Final Four for the veryfirst time under coach Matt Painter and the veryfirst time as a program giventhat 1980, the Boilermakers are developed around 7-foot-4 junior center Zach Edey, the preferred for nationwide gamer of the year.
The area doesn’t absence for star power: Purdue is signedupwith by No. 2 Marquette, No. 3 Kansas State and No. 4 Tennessee, followed by No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Kentucky.
USA TODAY Sports breaks down the NCAA Tournament East Region:
Best first-round match: Duke vs. Oral Roberts
Duke has a gripe about landing on the No. 5 line after closing the routine season with a grow under first-year coach Jon Scheyer, culminating with an ACC competition champion win versus Virginia. However, the Blue Devils are pitted versus maybe the finest mid-major group in the nation in No. 12 Oral Roberts, owners of the country’s longest active winning streak at 17 videogames. Two years after reaching the Sweet 16, the Golden Eagles will test Duke’s stout defense with one of the top offensive attacks in Division I. ORU ranks 3rd nationally in scoring (84.2 points per videogame) and 25th in field-goal portion (47.9%) while the Blue Devils sit 32nd in scoring defense (63.9 points per videogame).
REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS: East | South | Midwest | West
LEFT OUT: The 5 greatest competition snubs led by Oklahoma State
HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from the NCAA Tournament field
Possible upset: Providence over Kentucky
No. 11 Providence has what it takes to knock off No. 6 Kentucky — if the Friars play like the group that had a dominant midseason run rather of the team that collapsed late. Once 17-5 at near the leading of the Big East, Providence lost 4 of 5 to end the routine season and hops into the competition. But it’s not as if Kentucky’s been simple to anticipate; the Wildcats played muchbetter in March however had a hit-or-miss season. The videogame might be won on the offensive glass: Kentucky ranks 4th in Division I with 13.6 offensive rebounds per videogame and might fend off the Friars with second-chance points.
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