NCAA Tournament East Region Preview, Potential Upsets: Duke, Alabama, Wisconsin, Oregon, Arizona

The Oregon Ducks are the No. 5 seed in the East Region for the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. The Duke Blue Devils and Cooper Flagg are the No. 1 seed. Here is a breakdown of the top teams in the region; such as the Alabama Crimson Tide, Wisconsin Badgers, and Arizona Wildcats.

Oregon center Nate Bittle (32) blocks a shot by Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) during overtime of their game Saturday, February 22, 2025 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Oregon beat Wisconsin 77-73 in overtime. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks are the No. 5 seed in the East Region of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Oregon’s first round matchup is against the No. 12 seeded Liberty Flames on Friday night at 7:10 p.m PT on truTV.

This is the highest seed the Ducks have got in an NCAA Tournament since 2017 when they got a No. 3 seed. That Ducks team led by Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher, Jordan Bell, and Tyler Dorsey made it all the way to the Final Four. Can this year’s Ducks team create some of their own March magic?

Here’s how the rest of the East region shakes out. 

Duke No. 1 Seed In East Region

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) looks over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defense during the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Duke Blue Devils and coach Jon Scheyer are the No. 1 seed in the East Region. Duke is led by the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, forward Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils have looked invincible over the past month and have won 11 straight games; most of which were complete blowouts. Outside of Flagg (18.9 points per game), Duke’s two leading scorers are freshman guard Kon Knueppel (14.4 points per game) and junior guard Tyrese Proctor (12 points per game). 

Duke won the regular season ACC title outright and also won the conference tournament title this past weekend despite Flagg missing the semifinals and final with an ankle sprain. He should be good to go for their first round of the NCAA Tournament. They enter March Madness with a record of 31-3 and are one of the favorites to cut down the nets in San Antonio. 

Alabama, Wisconsin, and Arizona Seeded 2, 3, and 4

Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) works past Florida guard Alijah Martin (15) during the first half of a Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 15, 2025. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Alabama Crimson Tide are there No. 2 seed in the East Region. Alabama finished the season with a 25-8 record in a loaded SEC. Oregon and Alabama played earlier this season in the Players Era Festival, where the Ducks won 83-81. The Tide are seeking a second straight Final Four appearance. They are led by senior guard Mark Sears (18.7 points per game). 

The Wisconsin Badgers are the No. 3 seed in the East. This is one of the most fast paced and high scoring Badger teams in quite some time. They are led by senior guard John Tonje, who averages 19.5 points per game and shoots 39.8 percent from three. Oregon and Wisconsin played an overtime thriller last month, where the Ducks won on the road 77-73. Wisconsin has a record of 26-9.

The Arizona Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the East. Oregon and Arizona have a lot of history dating back to all of their years playing each other in the Pac 12. Now, Oregon is in the Big Ten and Arizona is in the Big 12, but here they are again with a chance to play each other. The 22-12 Wildcats are led by senior guard Caleb Love (16.6 points per game). 

Other Teams In The East To Watch Out For 

Mar 14, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Brigham Young Cougars forward Richie Saunders (15) shoots the ball during the second half against the Houston Cougars at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images / William Purnell-Imagn Images

If Oregon were to get by Liberty, they would be on a potential path to play Arizona in the second round and Duke in the Sweet 16. 

At the bottom of the region, there are some underrated teams that could make some noise in March. The No. 6 seeded BYU Cougars have been on fire recently, winning 8 straight games before falling in the Big 12 tournament semifinals to Houston. BYU can score with the best of them from inside and out, and the Cougars have eight different players that average seven or more points per game.

The No. 7 seed in the East is Saint Mary's. The Gaels have a suffocating defense anchored by WCC Defensive Player of the Year, Mitchell Saxen. They pride themselves on consistently making the right play and doing all the little things well. Coach Randy Bennett has made the Gaels a 25 plus win machine year in and year out, a feat they achieved once again for the fourth consecutive year.

Everyone loves a cinderella and a potential one in this region is the No. 13 seeded Akron Zips. Akron won the MAC with a record of 28-6, making the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The Zips have never won a tournament game and will try to flip that trend against No. 4 seeded Arizona. Akron is the No. 8 highest scoring team in the whole country, putting up 84.6 points per game. They like to run and gun and could pull the upset if they get hot from three point land.

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