Cooper Flagg’s health is the biggest storyline in the East Region as top-seeded Duke awaits the return of its freshman sensation. The Blue Devils beat North Carolina and Louisville in the ACC Tournament without the ACC Player of the Year, but Duke cannot win six in a row without a fully-dominant Flagg.
“I think it’s trending in a great way where Cooper will be ready to go right away in the NCAA Tournament,” Jon Scheyer told reporters after cutting down the nets at the ACC Tournament.
Duke is the unequivocal favorite, but this region is sneaky loaded. Seven of the 17 teams in the group rank inside the top-20 nationally since Feb. 1, per Bart Torvik. And that doesn’t even include No. 5 seed Oregon who has been a giant-slayer this season.
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Buckle up, because it’s time to dance. Let’s break down the East Region in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Best first-round game
(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU: This is the good stuff. BYU has one of the elite pick-and-roll offenses in America. VCU counters with an outstanding pick-and-roll defense. This is strength-on-strength with everything on the line. On one hand, VCU’s pressure defense feels eerily similar to the stuff Houston has used to make BYU quite uncomfortable multiple times. On the other hand, VCU’s guards can be a bit erratic as shot-makers. This cerebral chess match between Ryan Odom and Kevin Young will be the goods.
Top potential matchup
(1) Duke vs. (2) Alabama: Duke and Alabama are both on the short list of teams that can win six in a row, but there’s only room for one in San Antonio. Just from a roster-building perspective, this would be a real clash of styles. Alabama’s stars are four veteran seniors that Nate Oats plucked out of the transfer portal. Three of Duke’s best players are five-star freshmen that are complemented perfectly by Scheyer’s wise transfer portal additions. Oh, and there’d be points in this one with length, size and athleticism just overflowing everywhere.
March Madness 2025: Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Texas’ Tre Johnson headline list of top freshmen in the tournament
Cameron Salerno
Cinderella team that will surprise
(13) Akron: We’re stretching for a Cinderella in this region because we can’t bring up VCU again, right? Let’s pivot to Akron. Ramping up the number of possessions against a Tommy Lloyd-coached team is usually a recipe for disaster, but John Groce and the boys are going to try it. Akron will have at least four shooters on the floor at all times, and they’ll have to win the 3-point math in a big way. Akron takes and makes a ton of treys, which could open the door for an upset against an Arizona squad that has only hit double-digit 3-pointers six times this season. Arizona’s raw size will give undersized Akron some problems, but the Zips are tough and scrappy on the boards. Arizona is the pick here, but Groce made UCLA sweat in 2022 and had a late first-half lead on Creighton in 2024. Maybe the third time is the charm?
Team that will make a far-too-early exit
(3) Wisconsin: The Badgers have a right to feel jobbed by the committee. After playing four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament, Wisconsin is forced to play in Colorado — in the Denver elevation no less — on Thursday against a Montana club that has two guards (Money Williams and Malik Moore) who are nice with it. If Wisconsin can get past that first hurdle, it either gets BYU or VCU, who have been playing excellent basketball. According to Bart Torvik, BYU ranks 13th in the country since Feb. 1. VCU isn’t far behind at 18th nationally. It’s a brutal runout for the brilliant Greg Gard, who could’ve easily been sent to the Milwaukee-based quadrant.
Six players to watch
- Cooper Flagg, Duke: Flagg is the frontrunner for National Player of the Year after somehow exceeding all the hype and hoopla. He has been one of the best-two defenders in America while putting up dazzling efficiency splits offensively. He’s an excellent cutter. He’s become a knockdown catch-and-shoot weapon, especially coming off pin downs or flares. Flagg has emerged as Duke’s point-forward who seemingly gets better with time. He looks ticketed to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but a March Madness run could elevate his already-soaring profile even more.
- John Tonje, Wisconsin: Tonje is one of the top pure bucket-getters in the country; his stepback jumper is almost unguardable. The sixth-year senior is just a cheat code who is shooting over 38% from downtown, 53% on 2s and 90% at the free throw line. Tonje has been as impactful as any transfer in college basketball.
- Mark Sears, Alabama: Sears didn’t quite have the season he was envisioning when he returned to Alabama, but he still enters March Madness as one of the few short kings who can be crowned as the best guard in the sport. Sears is a threat to go for a 30-piece every time he laces ’em up, and he has “from the parking lot” range. His ability to get to the charity stripe at will is the secret sauce for Alabama’s supernova offense.
- Caleb Love, Arizona: Riding the Love rollercoaster can be a spiritual or stomach-turning experience depending on the day, but he’s quietly accepted a slightly smaller usage rate to let everyone else in Arizona’s deep, talented, eight-man rotation cook. That level of buy-in has helped Arizona turn a real corner. This team is dangerous because they don’t need Love to put on the Superman cape. But, when he gets rolling, Arizona feels completely unstoppable.
- VJ Edgecombe, Baylor: Edgecombe is one of the best prospects in the NBA Draft, and you don’t need a degree in hoop to figure that one out. Edgecombe just floats in the air, levitates for a second to let the other 90th-percentile athletes sink back to earth before proceeding to flush home a slam. He’s just … different. Edgecombe shot over 39% from 3-point range during Big 12 play, which made him even tougher to handle. The Baylor freshman is one of the most competitive, two-way difference-makers in the NCAA Tournament. He’s must-see TV.
- Nate Bittle, Oregon: Bittle has put it all together in his first healthy season. The 7-footer is one of the elite defenders in college basketball. Oregon’s defense falls off a cliff when he’s not on the floor, and he is an asset both at the rim and out on the perimeter. Bittle has won Oregon numerous games with his spectacular defense, and he gets it done offensively, too. Bittle has drained 34 3-pointers this year. He can hit face-up jumpers. He’s an outstanding post-up scorer who draws a ton of fouls and coverts at the free throw line at an 82% clip. Bittle is just a problem for everybody.
East Regional winner
(1) Duke: Duke has lost one game since Thanksgiving Day because it wins the math so frequently and easily. The Blue Devils’ offense creates a boatload of catch-and-shoot 3s or shots at the rim. Duke also is elite at protecting the rim with maybe the best shot-blocker in the 2025 NBA Draft. The gameplan that fueled UConn to the title is eerily similar to the blueprint Duke is using to win ballgames this year. This region isn’t easy but Duke is on another planet.
