Starts with Z
This is an A-to-Z tour of the East, but folks, we need to start with Z. As in Zion. As in Zion Williamson. The beast of a freshman is Duke's star, the most talked-about player in the nation, and he's destined to be the most talked-about player between now and when team planes land at MSP.
A Big bottom
Three Big Ten teams landed in the bottom half of the East, with Maryland, a 6 seed, joining the Gophers and No. 2 seed Michigan State.
Gophers, Cards: They've met before
The Gophers and the Cardinals have met twice before in the tournament — most recently in 1994's second round in Sacramento. Louisville scored 38 second-half points to beat Voshon Lenard & Co. 60-55. In 1982, Louisville eliminated a talented Gophers squad in a regional semifinal.
16, 18 ... who's counting?
Even though this is a "16 things to know" article, there are 18 teams in the East Region, with two First Four games feeding a slot. North Dakota State is one of those four First Four participants. It's the fourth year in a row that two of the First Four winners will feed into the East.
Last but not least
The Selection Committee now releases its ranking of all 68 teams, and Nos. 68 and 67 are in the East: Those Bison check in at 67, and the Eagles of N.C. Central were 68.
Terps in trouble?
Maryland fell to a No. 6 seed after going 1-3 in its last four games, more growing pains for the fourth-youngest team in the nation. The winner of the Belmont-Temple First Four game is a sleeper pick to survive into the first weekend.
The Billikens can
St. Louis has won its tourney opener five of its past six appearances, including the past three (2012, '13, '14), only to go 0-5 in the round of 32. The lone first-round loss in that time came in 2000 to Utah, then coached by Rick Majerus, who went on to coach the Billikens.
Curtain call for Temple's Dunphy
Fran Dunphy's Temple Owls sneaked into the tournament, as a First Four team and 11 seed. This is Dunphy's final season, after 13 years in Philly following John Chaney's run. The 70-year-old began coaching in 1971 at Army.