2023 NCAA Tournament: East Region Teams to Fade (March Madness)

by Matt Barbato |
Mar 14, 2023

The East Region could be the most chaotic group of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. And the region is defined by its top seed, Purdue. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles. But Purdue was wobbly down the stretch as teams started to figure out ways to limit national player of the year Zach Edey.

However, the Boilermakers arenâ€™t the only team with question marks in this group. Letâ€™s take a look.

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NCAA Tournament East Region Teams to Fade

Here are the teams Iâ€™ll be fading in the East Region.

(1) Purdue Boilermakers

I alluded to it above, but Purdue is a team Iâ€™m selling entering the NCAA Tournament. Edey is awesome and has been a tremendous story. But I donâ€™t trust the supporting cast around him. Mason Gillis is a streaky shooter who sometimes isnâ€™t assertive enough. And Purdueâ€™s second and third-leading scorers are freshmen guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

An elite big man always helps on a tournament run, but you also need reliable guard play. When push comes to shove, I donâ€™t trust Purdueâ€™s youngsters to deliver under pressure. Opponents can simply double-team Edey and dare anyone else to beat them.

Purdue also faces a gnarly matchup in the second round. Memphis is a highly athletic team that can cause havoc against Purdueâ€™s inexperienced guards. Florida Atlantic can spread the floor with 3-point shooters and has a 7-foot-1 big man who can stand up to Edey in the post.

(3) Kansas State Wildcats

Itâ€™s hard to believe in a team that ranks 302nd in turnover percentage and fouls on nearly 37% percent of their defensive possessions. The Wildcats have also been a completely different team away from their home building. Kansas State fits the formula as a highly-seeded team thatâ€™s ripe for an early upset. Theyâ€™ll also face a tricky test against Montana State, who can defend the post and get to the line at a high rate.

If K-State moves on, theyâ€™ll face a tricky matchup with Kentucky or Providence in the second round. But I donâ€™t see this team stringing together multiple strong performances in a row away from their home gym.

(4) Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee appears to have once again peaked in January and February. The Volunteers finished the year 4-6 and lost guard Zakai Zeigler to a season-ending injury. Zeiglerâ€™s absence is a brutal blow to an offense thatâ€™s already tough to watch. Tennesseeâ€™s defense is still elite, but it was last year, too, and the Vols still got bounced in the second round.

Tennessee should have enough to get past Louisiana, but theyâ€™ll then run into a red-hot Duke squad that can neutralize Tennesseeâ€™s offensive rebounding, which is its only strength on that side of the floor.

(6) Kentucky Wildcats

Kentuckyâ€™s justâ€¦ weird. They donâ€™t do anything great besides rebounding. But they donâ€™t have any enormous flaws either. The Wildcats are just a tough team to trust to string together a consistent stretch of games. Plus, Providence will give them everything they can handle in the Bryce Hopkins Revenge Game. If Kentucky can get past the Friars, a trip to the second weekend is feasible. But the Wildcats arenâ€™t a team Iâ€™ll be banking on during this tournament. Plus, John Calipari will likely be the lesser coach in each of Kentuckyâ€™s games.

Brand name may give Kentucky some cache in the betting market and bracket pools. But this team isnâ€™t on the level of past teams.

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