2021 NCAA Tournament East Region bracket picks: Upset watch, Michigan's toughest test and more to know

Michigan hung on to get a No. 1 seed in the East Region despite losing to Ohio State in Saturday's Big Ten semifinal, but it was the worst No. 1 seed, meaning they get the toughest gauntlet to run through if they look to win its first National Championship since 1989. The region gets underway Thursday when UCLA plays Michigan State (-1.5) in a play-in game for the No. 11 seed.

William Hill sportsbooks have Michigan at 11-to-2 odds to win it all, tied with Illinois for the third-lowest odds behind Gonzaga (11/5) and Baylor (9/2). East Region No. 2 seed Alabama is 20-to-1. 

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Before you lock in your bracket, here's everything you should consider about the East Region.

More regional breakdowns: West | South | Midwest | East

Cinderella to watch

No. 12 Georgetown. Patrick Ewing had an awful 2020 beginning with getting COVID-19, losing his leading scorer Mac McClung to a transfer, losing his leading rebounder, and had eight new players to the program. Georgetown was expected to finish just above DePaul in the Big East. But here they are, Big East champs getting the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a date against No. 5 Colorado on Saturday.

Georgetown closed the season out strong winning four of their last six but still finished 9-12 in Big East play (12-9 ATS). The Hoyas found themselves and they found that defense wins games. They took the only route possible to make the NCAAs and won four straight against the best of the Big East, the last being an emphatic 73-49 win against Creighton in the final.

It's in that late-season momentum, a rebirth of a proud program, being run by its greatest player ever that has me believing they can knock off Colorado, who rarely plays at their best away from Boulder -- they just lost to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Final at Las Vegas. It's a good look for Georgetown. The No. 12 seed is 50-90 straight-up against No. 5 seeds since 1985.     

Bracket buster alert

No. 5 Colorado. They've got top scorer and assists guy McKinley Wright IV leading the way with a defense that allows only 41% from the field, but they are choppy giving something different every game. They closed out the regular season strong with four wins (3-1 ATS) but struggled through the Pac-12 Tournament, winning by three points over California (+14) and two points over USC (+1.5) before losing by two points to Oregon State (+8.5). The Buffs are a much better team when they play at home. They're ripe for the upset here.  

Michigan's landmines

No. 8 LSU. They've been playing well and had some success in the SEC Tourney that they can work with. The No. 1 seed is 55-13 vs. the No. 8 seed in this round. LSU just beat Ole Miss and Arkansas before LSU won the conference with a 80-79 win. The loss at Georgia three weeks ago was puzzling, but they are playing their best hoops of the season right now.

No. 4 Florida State. They closed the regular season out losing two of three and then lost to Georgia Tech in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, but somewhere in the locker room the team that went 9-1 in ACC play to end January into the beginning of February is still around. That team could rise to the highest levels and put a plan together to beat Michigan.

No. 2 Alabama. If they get through the first three games, which they should, a date with Michigan is likely and they have the athletic ability to put the Wolverines in a bad spot. Alabama didn't just go 24-6 on the season, they went 17-12 against the spread and at one point in January they had won and covered eight straight games. They allowed opponents to shoot only 40.9% from the field this season.

Final Four bound

No. 1 Michigan. I love everything about this team, including the coaching job Juwan Howard has done. The kids listen to him, and then execute the orders. Defensively, the suffocate opponents, allowing only 39% shooting, eighth best in the nation. On offense, they take smart shots and hit 48.8% from the field and 38.6% from 3-land.

The Wolverines have the most diverse roster loaded with freshman, such as leading scorer Hunter Dickinson, but also have the leadership of upperclassmen such as Columbia graduate transfer Mike Smith running the point. Second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers (13.7 ppg, 6.1 apg) is out, but someone else will have to pick up the slack, and that's the top story coming in.

Can Michigan overcome the obstacle? Can they regain their swagger before COVID-19 slowed them down? They've lost three of their last five, but I don't see any team in the East Region that is better than them. I have Michigan coming out of the region and I have them winning the entire tournament.    

Odds to win East Region

Odds provided by William Hill.

Michigan +120
Alabama +400
Texas +850
Florida State +850
UConn +1400
BYU +1400
Colorado +1500
LSU +2000
St. Bonaventure +2000
Maryland +2500
Georgetown +5000
Michigan State +7500
UCLA +7500
Abilene Christian +25000
UNC Greensboro +25000
Iona +50000
Mount St. Mary's +100000
Texas Southern +100000

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