Previous: East Regional Breakdown. Follow Mr. T's college hoop thoughts and gambling picks on Twitter. And don't forget to join our March Madness BroBible.com Pick'Em group on ESPN.

Duke is the #1 seed that everyone (except the committee apparently) loves to hate. They've recently struggled in NCAA Tournament play due to being unable to defend athletic players and relying too heavily on the three-point shot. They've improved their front-court depth and rebounding issues from years past, but this year's bunch will only go as far as the big three of Scheyer, Singler, and Smith take them. The lack of a low post scorer has plagued them since Sheldon Williams left town to make an NBA salary and father Candace Parker's children. Duke did luck out with the easiest road of any #1 seed. While the committee fell short in giving them tough opponents, they did contribute something by having the Blue Devils possibly play two Texas-based schools in Houston.  Keep Reading »

Follow Mr. T's college hoop thoughts and gambling picks on Twitter. And don't forget to join our March Madness BroBible.com Pick'Em group on ESPN.

The East Region shapes up as the second toughest region in the tournament, with the #1 seed, Kentucky, sporting the youngest team in the bracket. They've managed to find a way to keep games close that shouldn't be and that will come back to bite them now that they're playing teams outside the SEC (the fifth best conference in the country, according to Ken Pomeory's rankings). Their non-conference strength of schedule is 138th in the country, not the best when compared to the other #1s (Duke is 39th; Kansas is 80th; Syracuse comes up a little short at 197th, but at least they played in a much tougher conference.)  Keep Reading »

Now that the brackets are circulating, March Madness fever is sweeping offices and workplaces around the country. Over the weekend we rounded-up some of the best college hoop links in the sports blogosphere to create a useful resource for our readers. If you're trapped in a cubicle, feel free to use it to kill time before the hardwood hysteria tips-off on Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, we fully intend this list of over 100 NCAA Tournament-related links to become a Holy Grail of March Madness information as the week progresses. If there's something you'd like us to add, let us know in the comments. After the jump is the complete first round schedule, bracketology tips, various contests, and much, much more.

Girls

• NC-Double-D Bracket: Best College Babe Bracket. [Playboy]
  
• Babes of the bottom bracket. [COED]
  
• The 2010 Cougar Madness Tournament. [Thunder Treats]
  
• The Ladies of March Madness (check back everyday). [Busted Coverage]
  
• The 25 hottest cheerleaders of the NCAA tournament. [Bleacher Report]
  
• The 15 hottest fans in March Madness. [Bleacher Report]
  
• The Sexiest Women Alive March Madness Tournament. [Esquire]
  
• Why Esquire's "Sexiest Women Alive" Tournament is horseshit. [Barstool Sports NY]
  
• 7 types of NCAA girls. [Made Man]
  
• The 40 hottest alumni of schools in the NCAA tournament. [Bleacher Report]  Keep Reading »

Championship Week had some great moments for college basketball fans, but it also provided more than a few learning experiences. Before we get to our breakdowns of the brackets (which will come Tuesday and Wednesday mornings), here's a quick lesson in Game Management 101 based on last weekend's near-disasters, mini-disasters, and complete, utter disaters. The exam period begins on Thursday.

You can't win if you don't even shoot the possible game winning shot.

Illinois had the opportunity to upset Ohio State at the end of both regulation and the first overtime period. They designed a play on both occasions, but were unable to even attempt a shot either time. We know that Bruce Weber isn't the best Xs and Os coach, but what the fuck are you doing in practice -- or in the huddle for that matter -- if you can't get your team prepared for this situation? The clock exists for a reason. If it expires before you get the shot off (twice no less), it kinda defeats the purpose of even designing a play. Hope you enjoy the N.I.T., guys.  Keep Reading »

March Madness is finally here, and since you've probably entered yourself into six pools by now, why not another one? BroBible.com would like to invite you to join our first annual ESPN Tournament Challenge group. Our public group's name is BroBible.com Pick'Em. To join in the group, just click here. If you haven't already (this year or in years past), you must create an ESPN username and password, which is free. Then click on the "My Entries" tab and fill out your bracket. Though ESPN allows up to 10 entries, we will limit each BroBible reader to two brackets in our group. If we determine that you entered more than two brackets, all your brackets will be disqualified.

So what can you win? The first-place winner will receive a $250 Amazon.com gift card; second and third place will receive $100 and $50 Amazon.com gift cards, respectively. All winners will also receive gear from the BroBible store.

Entry is free, and the deadline to fill out brackets is tip-off of the first game on Thursday, around 11:30 a.m. You can change your picks until the Thursday deadline, so don't forget to read Mr. T's region-by-region breakdowns on Tuesday and Wednesday. Good luck!

Click here to join the BroBible.com Pick'Em group!

Mr. T @ 4:59 p.m.: In an hour or so, the Selection Show for the NCAA Tournament will begin on CBS. I'll be live-blogging the unveiling of the brackets here along with AG. You can also follow along with our Twitter updates at Twitter.com/MrTRiseandFire and Twitter.com/BroBible.

AG @ 5:13 p.m.: We know that Kansas and Kentucky have locked up #1 seeds. Everyone is pretty sure that Syracuse will get a #1 as well, despite their early exit from the Big East Tournament (although there are some doubters out there). The lingering question is whether Duke or West Virginia will claim the final #1 seed. WVU won the Big East Tournament last night, beating Georgetown for the second time this season, while Duke just beat Georgia Tech to win the ACC crown (and have a brutal loss to Georgetown on their resume). Both teams' RPIs are in the top 5, with WVU of course playing in the more difficult conference this season. Common games are more or less even; WVU lost to St. John's, who Duke beat, while the Blue Devils have that loss to the Hoyas as a major blemish. Duke could get the top spot purely on name recognition, though that's not how I want to win that spot. At the end of the day, as a Duke fan I wouldn't mind a #2 seed. It takes some pressure off, and that's O.K. by me. Mr. T, what do you think?

AG @ 5:27 p.m.: Mr. T's actually heading home from the Garden and will be going live at 5:45, so here are the highlights of Kentucky vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Finals today, incluing DeMarcus Cousins' buzzer beater to send it into overtime. We'll try to get you guys a better version soon...



Mr. T @ 5:45 p.m.: I'm here and ready to begin the Madness. To answer AG's questions, WVU is more deserving than Duke because they have better wins on their resume than Duke does. They've played in the stronger conference, but they also have a non conference win against Ohio St., which is more than Duke has on their resume.

Mr. T @ 5:50p.m.: In previous years I'd be more worried about being a #2 seed than a #1, but I'm on record as thinking this tournament is going to be wild and wacky. Usually you'd want to avoid that 7/10 game because it could be tricky, but there are going to be some 8/9 games whose winners will bring a real good game to the #1 seeds.

AG @ 5:52 p.m.: What do you think, Mr. T -- does Illinois get the last at-large bid? They've got 14 losses...

The liveblogging continues after the jump...  Keep Reading »

This is why Evan Turner is your Player of the Year. Michigan up 2 with 2.2 seconds, but they decide to not only not guard the in-bounder, but also not guard the aforementioned PotY. So, of course, the Buckeyes inbound right to Turner, who runs about 15 feet down the court, and tosses up the three to win the game (and save a potential #1 NCAA Tournament seed). The must-watch video is after the jump.  Keep Reading »

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We witnessed a bit of a meltdown at the Garden today as Syracuse was upset by Georgetown and now faces serious questions about their Final Four chances. 'Cuse looked out of sorts in the second half, specifically on offense. Known for playing team basketball all year, Syracuse decided to play selfish basketball over the last 10 minutes. They shot too many ill-advised three-pointers and forced too many things off the dribble. The responsibility falls mostly on point guard Scoop Jardine, who decided to take things upon himself in the final minute when the game was still close. How the ball doesn't go through Kris Joseph or Wesley Johnson is something I'm still trying to figure out. You also can't discount the fact that Georgetown had the advantage of seeing the 'Cuse zone twice already this year.  Keep Reading »

BroBible will soon be launching a brommunity-wide March Madness NCAA tournament bracket. Before we set everything up, we'd like to know whether you, our esteemed readers, prefer to use ESPN, CBS, or Yahoo. Let us know which one is your favorite by sounding off in the comments.

Conference Tournament Week gets your blood pumping because you know Selection Sunday is only days away. It provides an opportunity for any good handicapper to analyze many teams over a short time frame, a must if you plan on succeeding in your NCAA pool. Here's a look at which teams are coming into their tournaments too high and which other teams have the ability to steal the title. As a reference, here are links to the efficiency numbers and Ken Pomeroy ratings I mention continuously below.

ACC
Overrated: Florida State. It's always an issue when a team with scoring problems gets in a tournament setting because every possession has more attention by both clubs. FSU is only the 8th most efficient offensive club in the conference, so the very real possibility exists of them being unable to make a basket when they need it in a close game.

Sleeper: Clemson. We're used to Clemson floundering towards the end of the season, but they've surprisingly held up with less talent than they've had in previous years. The Tigers have won five of seven including two wins over Florida State, they're likely quarterfinal opponent. Their press is hard to prepare for in the limited time frame of a conference tournament, so there's a good possibility the #6 seed (17th ranked in the country by Pomeroy) can pull off four wins in a row. Not a terrible option at plus-1200 if you're a betting man.  Keep Reading »

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It's the last week of the college basketball regular season, meaning there are some big games on the schedule. If you're not killing your liver at Hoboken's St. Patty's Day party or an equivalent booze fest, here's a list of games you should be paying to as the weekend goes along. We do, however, highly encourage you to find a way to killer your liver and watch the games at the same time. That's what March Madness is all about.

Saturday:

West Virginia at Villanova (CBS @ 12 p.m.)
This is a battle for the #2 seed in the conference tournament. It's a bigger deal for West Virginia because they could drop to a #4 and get one less chance for a resume win before having to battle 'Cuse in a semi-road game.

Cincinnati at Georgetown (ESPN360 @ 12 p.m.)
The Bearcats are in bubble trouble and the Hoyas are in a free fall. This game means more to Cincy (to help their chances of making the tournament) than it does Georgetown, but the Hoyas need to wake up at some point in the near future. They're quickly going from a possible tournament sleeper to an overbought team we watch lose in the first weekend.  Keep Reading »

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Coach Paul Hewitt must've felt pretty good about Georgia Techs potential when they landed at #20 in the January 11 AP poll. The Yellow Jackets had just taken down mighty Duke in the ACC regular season opener and sat at 12-3 for the season. Oh, what a difference two months make. His boys must not be able to perform without a pre-game meal of chili dogs from The Varsity a few blocks off campus. Georgia Tech now has a 1-7 record on the road in ACC play after a double-digit defeat at Clemson last night. The last thing to face such destruction on the road was Richard's 1967 Plymouth GTX in "Tommy Boy." The only road game Tech has conquered was at North Carolina, not exactly a resume win in 2010. Don't forget this is also a down year for the ACC. If you're hoping out of conference road games treated Tech any better, I'm not sure the committee will be impressed too much with Ws against Charlotte and Chattanooga.  Keep Reading »

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The Olympics are done and dusted and we've now turned the calendar to March. Any sports fan with a pulse is preparing for Spring's version of Christmas, otherwise known as March Madness. This season has an aura of the unknown as juggernaut teams don't exist like in recent years. Just last week five teams in the AP poll's top 10 felt the agony of defeat.

This sense of the unknown is also common to the players involved since the NCAA Tournament often provides a showcase for off-the-radar players to rise to the occasion. With less than two weeks left before the brackets are announced, let's take a look at which unsung players are essential to the title runs of who I think are the 10 best teams in the country.

10. Wisconsin: Jordan Taylor
Taylor was thrust into the starting lineup when Jon Leuer got hurt and he's held onto the spot at Tim Jarmusz's expense upon Leuer's return. Wisconsin's basketball program has never been blessed with as many scoring options as the K Klub on a Saturday night (especially if you're wearing your drinking glove), so Taylor's ability to light it up as he did recently against Purdue and Penn State will likely be required again.  Keep Reading »

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With three weeks until Selection Sunday, I took a look back at Sports Illustrated's college basketball preview to see who they had ranked in their top 20. What a difference a few months make. Much has happened since the beginning of the season, but what's most intriguing is watching which teams haven't progressed as planned. Injuries have played a part for some, but the key element lies in the expectations of the players on the floor. Did all the hype on a great recruiting class result in teams blowing out too quickly like Jason Biggs in "American Pie"? Did a projected star sophomore age as poorly as Jenna Jameson or Kirstie Alley? Let's take a look back at the three teams that have been the most disappointing thus far in the college basketball season.  Keep Reading »

Shaun White's golden half-pipe pageantry and brand-spankin' new double mctwist 1260 was cool and all, but it wasn't impressive enough to earn the number one sport on SportsCenter this morning. The top slot went to Murray State freshman guard Isaiah Canaan, who sunk an incredible half court shot before the shot clock expired. He was able to avoid backcourt and shot clock violations by taking the three-point humdinger on his knees, giving Murray State a 29-12 lead. Last night he told Yahoo's "The Dagger" blog, "I've always dreamed of being on SportsCenter, but I never thought it would be like that." He added, "We do some crazy shots after practice, but we'll either be behind the goal or somewhere in the stands. We've never been out there on the court on our knees. I still don't know how that went in." Check out the video after the jump.  Keep Reading »