East Region vs. Tournament Teams

Breaking down the madness in the East Region...there are a thousand different ways to compare these teams beyond their seeding, and this morning we take a look at each team's record against the other 64 teams in the field.

We know Pittsburgh is the favorite here, and there are some other name teams in this region...and we know the Vols have a long road in front of them as a nine seed.  But part of what helped Tennessee's seeding was their non-conference schedule (...or at least that was the way it was supposed to work), as the Vols are very familiar with the competition in the field.

Who are the other teams in this part of the bracket who've matched up well against other teams in the field thus far?  We take a quick look at each team against the rest of the tournament teams...

#1 Pittsburgh

• 9-3 against the field
• Wins:  UConn (twice - 1), Syracuse (3), Florida State (5), Marquette (6), West Virginia (twice - 6), Siena (9), Akron (13)
• Losses:  Louisville (1), Villanova (3), West Virginia (6)

#2 Duke

• 11-6 against the field
• Wins:  Wake Forest (4), Xavier (4), Florida State (thrice - 5), Purdue (5), Boston College (7), Maryland (thrice - 10), Michigan (10)
• Losses:  North Carolina (twice - 1), Wake Forest (4), Boston College (7), Clemson (7), Michigan (10)

#3 Villanova

• 6-6 against the field
• Wins:  Pittsburgh (1), Syracuse (twice - 3), Marquette (twice - 6), Temple (11)
• Losses:  Louisville (twice - 1), UConn (1), Marquette (6), West Virginia (6), Texas (7)

#4 Xavier

• 4-3 against the field
• Wins:  Memphis (2), Missouri (3), LSU (8), Temple (11)
• Losses:  Duke (2), Butler (9), Temple (11)

#5 Florida State

• 6-7 against the field
• Wins:  North Carolina (1), California (7), Clemson (twice - 7), Maryland (10), Western Kentucky (12)
• Losses:  Pittsburgh (1), North Carolina (1), Duke (thrice - 2), Wake Forest (4), Boston College (7)

#6 UCLA

• 7-7 against the field
• Wins:  Washington (4), California (twice - 7), USC (twice - 10), Arizona (12), Cal State-Northridge (15)
• Losses:  Washington (4), Arizona State (twice - 6), Texas (7), Michigan (10), USC (10), Arizona (12)

#7 Texas

• 6-6 against the field
• Wins:  Oklahoma (2), Villanova (3), UCLA (6), Oklahoma State (8). Texas A&M (9), Wisconsin (12)
• Losses:  Oklahoma (2), Michigan State (2), Kansas (3), Missouri (3), Oklahoma State (8), Texas A&M (9)

#8 Oklahoma State

• 4-10 against the field
• Wins:  Oklahoma (2), Texas (7), Siena (9), Texas A&M (9)
• Losses:  Oklahoma (twice - 2), Michigan State (2), Kansas (3), Missouri (twice - 3), Gonzaga (4), Washington (4), Texas (7), Texas A&M (9)

#9 Tennessee

• 4-7 against the field
• Wins:  Marquette (6), Siena (9), Mississippi State (13), Chattanooga (16)
• Losses:  Memphis (2), Kansas (3), Gonzaga (twice - 4), LSU (8), Temple (11), Mississippi State (13)

#10 Minnesota

• 7-8 against the field
• Wins:  Louisville (1), Illinois (5), Ohio State (8), Wisconsin (twice - 12), Cornell (14), North Dakota State (15)
• Losses:  Michigan State (thrice - 2), Illinois (5), Purdue (5), Ohio State (8), Michigan (twice - 10)

#11 Virginia Commonwealth

• 1-1 against the field
• Wins:  Akron (13)
• Losses:  Oklahoma (2)

#12 Wisconsin

• 4-10 against the field
• Wins:  Illinois (5), Ohio State (8), Michigan (twice - 10)
• Losses:  UConn (1), Michigan State (2), Illinois (5), Purdue (twice - 5), Marquette (6), Texas (7), Ohio State (8), Minnesota (twice - 10)

#13 Portland State

• 1-1 against the field
• Wins:  Gonzaga (4)
• Losses:  Washington (4)

#14 American

• 0-2 against the field
• Wins:  none
• Losses:  Okahoma (2), Maryland (10)

#15 Binghamton

• played no tournament teams

#16 East Tennessee State

• 1-2 against the field
• Wins:  Chattanooga (16)
• Losses:  Temple (11), Morehead State (16) 

First of all, we can say that Pitt and Duke are both very impressive - playing in the Big East and the ACC guaranteed you plenty of opportunities to play tourney teams this season (where the SEC suffers), but both schools really made the most of it.  Villanova also has a ton of quality wins.

There's a fairly even balance here in seeds 4-7, with Xavier's quality wins matching them up nicely with players from the major conferences.  And down at 10, Minnesota has a win against Louisville to help separate out their resume against the Big 10 pack.

Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Wisconsin are all in the same boat - good enough to beat great teams at times, but not consistent enough to do it...consistently.  As for the Vols, they'll be facing a team that's just as experienced playing against the big boys as they are.

Sensible upset picks in this bracket go through Portland State at 13, who did beat Gonzaga.

Regardless, using these numbers may just show us what the seedings did already - Pitt and Duke are on their own level, then Villanova...then everyone else.