The East Region features last year’s national champion Baylor as the top seed, as well as the two teams with the most NCAA Tournament titles in history: UCLA, ranked 4th, and Kentucky, 2nd (eight). Meanwhile, the No. 3 seed Purdue is making its first Final Four appearance since 1980. The other blue blood, North Carolina, is here as the number 8 seed, and Indiana will join the group if it comes out of the top four.
So there shouldn’t be a shortage of storylines or potentially interesting matchups (Kentucky vs. Murray State in the second round, anyone?) as teams try to make their way to Philadelphia.
• Learn more about other NCAA Tournament Regions: West | South | Midwest
1 Baylor Bears
Round One: vs. No. 16 Norfolk State Thursday (2:00 pm ET TBS)
Record: 26-6 (14-4 Big 12)
How They Got Here: Since winning the national championship last season, Scott Drew’s program hasn’t stopped. With four rookies in the starting lineup, the Bears won their first 13 and did not fall out of the top 10 during the regular season. Baylor, who finished third in the Big 12 preseason poll, tied the conference title with Kansas and had 10 Quad 1 wins. The last team to win multiple national championships was Florida, led by Billy Donovan in 2006 and 2007. .
What you need to know: The Bears are in the top 20 national rankings for offensive and defensive effectiveness.