Once again, the East Region's road to the Final Four will have to go through Duke.
The Blue Devils (29-4) reestablished themselves as one of the elite national powers with a convincing run through the ACC tournament, which culminated in an overwhelming victory Sunday against North Carolina. A couple hours after smashing the Tar Heels, Duke was rewarded with the No. 1 seed in the East region. The lopsided championship game also stripped the Tar Heels of a chance at a top seed, as the selection committee instead opted for Michigan State and Illinois despite early losses by both teams in the Big Ten tournament.
Illinois stayed in the Midwest, top-ranked Stanford took the No. 1 seed in the West and defending national champion Michigan State, the final team to earn a top seed, was sent to the South along with North Carolina as the second seed.
Duke will play 16th-seeded Monmouth (21-9) Thursday in the Greensboro Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Eighth-seeded Georgia (16-4) will play ninth-seeded Missouri (19-11) in the opening round, with the victor to play Saturday in Greensboro against the winner of Duke's game. A Duke-Missouri game in the second round would pit Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski against his former prot/g/, Quin Snyder, who played for and served as an assistant under Krzyzewski.
"It's an honor. We love Greensboro and we love ACC country," Krzyzewski said following Duke's romp of the Tar Heels.
Although Duke will be the clear-cut favorite to make it out of the third and fourth rounds in Philadelphia, the East region boasts a few potential threats to Duke's quest to return to the Final Four in Minneapolis. Third-seeded Boston College, which lost to the Blue Devils in Cameron earlier this season, was expected by many to be a two seed, while UCLA could be the most dangerous four seed in the 65-team draw. A possible Elite Eight battle with Kentucky, the two seed, would be a rematch of both the 1992 classic and the heart-breaking loss suffered by Duke and then-freshman Shane Battier three years ago.
In the South region, North Carolina will have its hands full if both the Tar Heels and third-seeded Florida meet in the Sweet 16. A showdown between UNC and the Gators would give fans a chance to relive last year's Final Four.
As was expected, the ACC landed six teams in the tournament, including Maryland, Virginia, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
The Demon Deacons, who are the seven seed in the Midwest, could play their second-round game against second-seeded Arizona, the preseason favorite to win the national championship. Maryland, meanwhile, was shipped out to the West region in a loaded bracket that includes Stanford as the top seed and Iowa State as the two seed. If the Terrapins and the Blue Devils both survive their first four games, the two teams would play March 31 in the Final Four for a fourth time this season.
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