East Regional

The road to the East Regional title goes through Madison Square Garden, as the great basketball arena hosts NCAA Tournament play for the first time in over 50 years. TheSportsNotebook has laid the groundwork for this regional with our “Tale of the Tape” report on all 16 teams in the bracket. In this post, we’ll run through nine general thoughts on the region, followed by game-by-game picks…

Madison Square Garden is arguably the most famous basketball venue in America, steeped in college basketball, both historical and contemporary. But it’s been over 50 years since this arena last hosted an NCAA Tournament. That comes to an end next weekend, when the East Regional is settled in New York City. What follows are the 16 teams that will spend Thursday thru Sunday fighting for the four spots at MSG, with a snapshot look at their personnel and schedule highlights.