The NCAA bracket 2011 has been torn apart in many regions. However, the NCAA bracket 2011 has held to form in a select few areas. One of them is the Eastern regional, as all but one of their top four seeds is in the Sweet 16. In fact, the tournament favorite is still in the East, after Ohio State blew through the opening two games. However, given the A-list names waiting for them in Newark, the NCAA bracket 2011 could have its biggest showdowns to date from the East region.
If Syracuse had gotten through to the Sweet 16, the East would have been filled with prestige from top to bottom. Instead, Marquette is the big underdog in a region that now has Ohio State, North Carolina and Kentucky left in Newark.
Most of the blue bloods left in the NCAA bracket 2011 are meeting up in the East, as it turns out. Kentucky and North Carolina are among the biggest winners in the sport’s history, while Ohio State has become the clear No. 1 in the nation. Even though Syracuse isn’t adding its own prestige, Marquette still stands out as one of the only two Big East schools left.
The Ohio State-Kentucky semifinal stands to be highly anticipated, as it should be the Buckeyes’ first real test in the tournament. While Ohio State has been peaking, Kentucky has been getting hot as well, as they got tested in the clutch against Princeton and West Virginia.
Marquette is technically one of the big underdogs left on the NCAA bracket 2011, as an 11’th seed. Yet the Golden Eagles secured their bid with two wins in the Big East tournament, before dominating Xavier, and holding off Syracuse in the last minute. After struggling for the last half of the regular season, Marquette is now returning to form.
North Carolina has climbed back on top in an even bigger fashion, as they stormed to win the ACC regular season title, and take the No. 2 seed. Yet the Tar Heels needed rallies to win in the ACC tournament, and overcame slow starts against Long Island and Washington as well. There is room for Marquette to jump out early, although finishing against North Carolina is another matter.
Except for Marquette’s run, the NCAA bracket 2011 has gone exactly to form in the East – establishing it as one of the few stable regions left. But now that powers like Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State and Marquette are left, they may have a harder time on their hands this weekend. And if anyone other than Ohio State wins the region, it will throw the tournament further into chaos, without its leading favorite.
Since there are several Cinderellas still left, there may not be that many showdowns between A-list schools until later. But the NCAA bracket 2011 should fill that gap with the East regional battles for this week.
Sources
ESPN- “NCAA Tournament Bracket – 2011”
