The No. 1 seed in the East Region and overall for the 2024 March Madness Tournament is UConn. The East Region is often the Elite Region come NCAA tournament time. Top college basketball conferences like the Big East and ACC play the brunt of their games on the East Coast and many of those conference’s teams find their way into the East Region bracket this time of year.
We will examine East Region odds and March Madness odds for the 2024 NCAA Tournament below. This year’s East Sweet 16 games and Elite 8 Regional Final game will be played at TD Garden in Boston.
East Region odds
The East Sweet 16 round will be played at TD Garden on Thursday, March 28. The East Regional Final will be played at TD Garden on Saturday, March 30.
1 UConn vs. 3 Illinois
The opening spread for the Elite 8 East Region final between defending national champion UConn and Illinois opened as Huskies -7.5 with an over/under of 156.5. Tip is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET (TBS). No. 1 UConn advanced with a convincing 82-52 victory over No. 5 San Diego State (easily covering the -9.5 spread). Illinois moved on as a small +2.5 underdog versus No. 2 Iowa State, 72-69.
East Regional odds history
Go here for NCAA college basketball tournament odds for every game.
The East Region was the definition of March Madness last year. Top seed Purdue was upset in the first round by Fairleigh Dickinson and the region saw 9 seed Florida Atlantic make it all the way to the Final Four. FAU narrowly lost in the National Semifinals to San Diego State, 72-71.
North Carolina represented the East Region in the National Championship Game the year prior where they lost to No. 1 Kansas 72-69.
The 2021 East Region produced a surprise Final Four team in UCLA. The 11-seeded Bruins upset No. 6 BYU in the first round, beat 14-seed Abilene Christian in the second round, toppled 2-seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 and capped off their run by taking down 1-seed Michigan.
East Region history: First round upsets
Upsets, big and small, are a common occurrence in the East Region. In fact, one of the biggest NCAA tournament upsets of all-time took place in the East last year. East 1-seed Purdue was taken down by 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the tournament. It was just the second time in college basketball history that a 16 seed upset a 1.
This year’s first round included No. 13 Yale pulling off a big upset over Auburn while No. 11 Duquense took down No. 6 BYU.
The 2012 tournament was the only Big Dance since the turn of the century in which there wasn’t at least one first-round upset in the East Region.
The No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls also made headlines in the East by advancing all the way to the Final Four before losing by 1 point to San Diego State.
The craziest East bracket since 2000 came in 2010 when a 12 beat a 5, an 11 beat a 6, a 10 beat a 7 and a 9 toppled an 8. The biggest upsets in the region came with 14 seeds stunning 3 seeds. In 2016, Stephen F. Austin shocked West Virginia and in 2005 Bucknell upset Kansas.
Here is a look at all of the lower seeds that have taken down higher seeds in the first round of the East over the past 25 years.
- 2024: No. 13 Yale vs. No. 4 Auburn, No. 11 Duquesne over No. 6 BYU
- 2023: No. 16 FDU over No. 1 Purdue, No. 9 FAU over No. 8 Memphis
- 2022: No. 15 St. Peter’s over No. 2 Kentucky
- 2021: No. 11 UCLA over No. 6 BYU, No. 14 Albilene Christian over No. 3 Texas, No. 10 Maryland over No. 7 UConn
- 2019: No. 12 Liberty over No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 10 Minnesota over No. 7 Louisville, No. 9 UCF over No. 8 VCU
- 2018: No. 13 Marshall over No. 4 Wichita State, No. 10 Butler over No. 7 Arkansas, No. 9 Alabama over No. 8 Virginia Tech
- 2017: No. 11 USC over No. 6 SMU
- 2016: No. 14 Stephen F. Austin over No. 3 West Virginia, No. 9 Providence over No. 8 USC
- 2015: No. 11 Dayton over No. 6 Providence
- 2014: No. 12 Harvard over No. 5 Cincinnati
- 2013: No. 12 California over UNLV, No. 9 Temple over No. 8 NC State
- 2012: None
- 2011: No. 11 Marquette over No. 6 Xavier
- 2010: No. 12 Cornell over No. 5 Temple, No. 11 Washington over No. 6 Marquette, No. 10 Missouri over No. 7 Clemson, No. 9 Wake Forest over No. 8 Texas
- 2009: No. 12 Wisconsin over No. 5 Florida State
- 2008: No. 9 Arkansas over No. 8 Indiana
- 2007: No. 9 Michigan State over No. 8 Marquette
- 2006: No. 11 George Mason over No. 6 Michigan State
- 2005: No. 14 Bucknell over No. 3 Kansas, No. 10 North Carolina State, No. 9 Iowa State over No. 8 Minnesota
- 2004: No. 12 Manhattan over No. 5 Florida
- 2003: No. 12 Butler over No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 10 Auburn over No. 7 St. Joseph’s
- 2002: No. 12 Tulsa over No. 5 Marquette, No. 11 Southern Illinois over No. 6 Texas Tech
- 2001: No. 12 Utah State over No. 5 Ohio State, No. 9 Missouri over No. 8 Georgia
- 2000: No. 11 Pepperdine over No. 6 Indiana, No. 10 Seton Hall over No. 7 Oregon
NCAA champions from the East Region
The East Region has produced a respectable eight NCAA champions since 1990. Considering the Region often has top seeds from elite basketball conferences like the ACC and Big East, this is not too surprising.
The East had a three-year win streak in the early 2000s with Duke, Maryland and Syracuse going all the way. It also produced the second lowest seed to ever win the National Championship when UConn shocked the world as a 7 seed in 2014.
NCAA champs coming from the East Region over the past 32 years include:
- 2018 Villanova
- 2014 UConn
- 2005 North Carolina
- 2003 Syracuse
- 2002 Maryland
- 2001 Duke
- 1993 North Carolina
- 1992 Duke
Here is a look at NCAA champs by region and seed since 1990:
| Year | NCAA Champion | Region | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | UConn | West | 4 |
| 2022 | Kansas | Midwest | 1 |
| 2021 | Baylor | South | 1 |
| 2020 | *Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic | N/A | N/A |
| 2019 | Virginia | South | 1 |
| 2018 | Villanova | East | 1 |
| 2017 | North Carolina | South | 1 |
| 2016 | Villanova | South | 2 |
| 2015 | Duke | South | 1 |
| 2014 | UConn | East | 7 |
| 2013 | Louisville | Midwest | 1 |
| 2012 | Kentucky | South | 1 |
| 2011 | UConn | West | 3 |
| 2010 | Duke | South | 1 |
| 2009 | North Carolina | South | 1 |
| 2008 | Kansas | Midwest | 1 |
| 2007 | Florida | Midwest | 1 |
| 2006 | Florida | Midwest | 3 |
| 2005 | North Carolina | East | 1 |
| 2004 | UConn | West | 2 |
| 2003 | Syracuse | East | 3 |
| 2002 | Maryland | East | 1 |
| 2001 | Duke | East | 1 |
| 2000 | Michigan State | Midwest | 1 |
| 1999 | UConn | West | 1 |
| 1998 | Kentucky | South | 2 |
| 1997 | Arizona | South | 4 |
| 1996 | Kentucky | Midwest | 1 |
| 1995 | UCLA | West | 1 |
| 1994 | Arkansas | Midwest | 1 |
| 1993 | North Carolina | East | 1 |
| 1992 | Duke | East | 1 |
| 1991 | Duke | Midwest | 2 |
| 1990 | UNLV | West | 1 |
How the East Region is selected
On Selection Sunday each year, the NCAA Div. 1 men’s basketball “Selection Committee” meet to determine the field, choose each team’s seed and which region each team will be playing in. Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Charles McClelland is the current chairman of the Div. 1 men’s basketball committee. Thirty-two teams receive automatic bids by virtue of winning their respective conference tournament. The committee chooses the teams who receive “at-large” bids.
At-large selection and seeding is based on:
- Record
- Strength of schedule
- Scoring margin
- Location of wins, losses
- Net offensive and defensive efficiency
- Quality of wins and losses
As for which region each team is placed in, the committee will look to give top teams preferential treatment when it comes to travel. The best teams in the field will typically play close to home, and the teams that just barely make it will often have to go on the road.
For instance, the top teams in the 2019 East Region were:
Duke, Michigan State, LSU and Virginia Tech.
Had Michigan State posted a slightly better regular season record in 2019, they likely would have wound up in their traditional portion of the bracket – the Midwest. And had LSU been slightly better in the regular season, they would have likely landed in their traditional bracket of the South.
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