NCAA tournament preview: East Regional

A look at the NCAA tournament East Regional:

TOP SEEDS

1 NORTH CAROLINA: This is the sixth time the Tar Heels have been a No. 1 seed under Coach Roy Williams. They’ve reached a regional final each time.

2 XAVIER: The high-scoring Musketeers average 81.3 points per game — 18th in the nation — to accompany a solid defense. This is the highest seeding in school history.

3 WEST VIRGINIA: Part of a loaded bottom half of the bracket in this region, the Mountaineers lost to top overall seed Kansas by 10 points in the Big 12 championship game.

4 KENTUCKY: After some early-season inconsistency that included losses to UCLA, Ohio State and Louisiana State, the Wildcats have won 10 of their last 12 games.

CINDERELLA SEARCH

After stunning Indiana in the Big Ten tournament, Michigan needs to survive Wednesday’s play-in game against Tulsa for a chance to continue the upsets.

TOP PLAYERS

Kris Dunn, guard, Providence

The playmaking junior who averaged 16 points and 6.4 assists per game may be the top point guard prospect for this year’s NBA draft.

Jamal Murray, guard, Kentucky

The latest freshman sensation produced by the Wildcats’ basketball factory, Murray has topped 20 points in 12 of the last 13 games.

Brice Johnson, forward, North Carolina

Another projected first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft, the lanky senior scored 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in a victory over Florida State this season.

RIM SHOTS

Despite an inconsistent season, Kentucky freshman big man Skal Labissiere could be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft.

Coached by Steve Pikiell, who played for Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, Stony Brook will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the New York school’s history.

Star Michigan guard Caris LeVert, who averaged 16.5 points per game in 15 games this season, is sidelined for the rest of the season because of a leg injury.

Wisconsin has made 18 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.

THE MATCHUPS

1 North Carolina (28-6, ACC Champion) vs. 16 Play-in winner: Fairleigh Dickinson (18-14, Northeast champion) or Florida Gulf Coast (20-15, Atlantic Sun champ)

The second overall seed in the tournament, North Carolina averages 82.3 points per game — 12th in the nation — and is contending for its first national title since 2009. One player is left on Florida Gulf Coast’s roster from Enfield’s “Dunk City” team that won two games as a No. 15 seed during the NCAA tournament in 2013

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8 USC (21-12, at-large) vs. 9 Providence (23-10, at-large)

After miserable seasons in Coach Andy Enfield’s first two years at USC, the Trojans are making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2011.

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5 Indiana (25-7, at-large) vs. 12 Chattanooga (29-5, Southern champ)

Still smarting from an upset loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament, Indiana could collide with surging Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament.¿12 Chattanooga (29-5, Southern champion)

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4 Kentucky (26-8, SEC Champion) vs. 13 Stony Brook (26-6, American East champ)

Stony Brook’s first tournament appearance is likely to be a quick one. The Seawolves haven’t encountered this kind of talent, playing the country’s 228th-toughest schedule.

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6 Notre Dame (21-11, at-large) vs. 11 Play-in winner: Michigan (22-12, at-large) or 11 Tulsa (20-11, at large)

Notre Dame could be primed for an upset, having dropped four of its last seven games. The losses included a 31-point drubbing by North Carolina, the ACC champion. In one aggregation of 59 bracket predictions, zero picked Tulsa to make the tournament. Mediocre Memphis beat the Golden Hurricane by 22 last week.

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3 West Virginia (26-8, at-large) vs. 14 S.F. Austin (27-5, Southland champion)

West Virginia’s rugged defense, holding opponents to 66.6 points per game, helped the Mountaineers beat nine teams this season ranked in the RPI’s top 50.

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7 Wisconsin (20-12, at-large) vs. 10 Pittsburgh (21-11, at-large)

Led by Coach Greg Gard, who took over after legendary coach Bo Ryan’s resignation in December, Wisconsin has won 11 of its last 13 games.

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2 Xavier (27-5, at-large) vs. 15 Weber State (26-8, Big Sky champion)

Xavier has advanced to regional semifinals three times — including last season — in the last six years under Coach Chris Mack. This may be his best team yet.