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2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket East Region Instant Analysis

Tom Crean, Victor Oladipo

Indiana coach Tom Crean, right, celebrates with Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) after a 72-71 win over Michigan, to give the Hoosiers their first outright Big Ten title in two decades, in an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, March 10, 2013, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

AP

Indiana gets the third No. 1 seed, heading to Dayton, OH, to take on the winner of LIU-Brooklyn and James Madison. The Hoosiers missed out on a chance to play in Indianapolis for the regional; they’ll be headed to DC instead.

If Indiana doesn’t become the first No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round, they will take on the winner of the uber-talented and ultra-enigmatic NC State Wolfpack and the Temple Fighting Khalif Wyatts.

Miami, the duel-ACC title winners, earned the No. 2 seed in the east, drawing Pacific in the opening round. Marquette was a No. 3 seed in the east, and they may have the toughest draw of all the top three seeds in the opening round: the Davidson Wildcats. If they win? They get to play either No. 6 seed Butler or No. 11 seed Bucknell. That’s just a brutally tough pod. Which is great for us.

(CLICK HERE: To browse through the rest of our 2013 NCAA Tournament Previews)

Syracuse drew the No. 4 seed in the East, and they drew a tough Montana squad in the opening round. The Grizzlies have a really, really good back court, but if Mathias Ward -- Montana’s leading scorer -- is still injured, they aren’t the same team.

The most head-scratching decision in the East Region? No. 5 seed UNLV will be playing No. 12 Cal, who they already matched up with this season, in what ends up being essentially a home game for the Bears in San Jose.

As there is in every region, the coin-flip game will be No. 7 Illinois and No. 10 Colorado. Both the Illini and the Buffaloes are “Box o’ Chocolate” teams: you never know what you’re gonna get.

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You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.