EAST REGION
 | In '06, George Mason catapulted to mid-major infamy when it made the Final Four. John Biever/SI |
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Butler Bulldogs
Seed, Region: No. 7, East
Record: 29-3 (16-2 Horizon)
NCAA bid: Automatic
RPI: 17
Coach: Brad Stevens (First year at Butler, first NCAA tournament)
Best player: Mike Green. A.J. Graves may be better known nationally, but Green has blossomed as a senior, leading Butler in points (14.6), rebounds (6.4) and assists (5.2) and becoming a Wooden finalist.
Key stat: Butler held 10 opponents to 50 points or less and allows just 57.8 points per game, fifth best in the nation.
Notable games: beat Michigan 79-65; beat Virginia Tech 84-78; beat Texas Tech 81-71; beat Ohio State 65-46; beat Florida State 79-68; lost to Drake 71-64
Record in last 12 games: 11-1
Last NCAA appearance: 2007, as a No. 5 seed, beat Old Dominion 57-46; beat Maryland 62-59; lost to Florida 65-57 in Sweet 16
South Alabama Jaguars
Seed: No. 10
Record: 26-6 (16-2 Sun Belt)
NCAA bid: At-large
RPI: 38
Coach: Ronnie Arrow (First year of second stint with Jaguars, ninth year overall, 3rd NCAA tournament)
Best Player: Demetric Bennett. A two-time first-team All-Sun Belt player, Bennett averaged 19.9 points and scored 39 in a loss at Ole Miss in December.
Key stat: South Alabama has outrebounded or been even with opponents in 20 games this season and is 18-2 in those games.
Notable games: lost at Ole Miss 81-78; lost at Vanderbilt 91-88; beat Mississippi State 71-67
Record in last 12 games: 9-3
Last NCAA appearance: 2006, as a No. 14 seed, lost to Florida 76-50
George Mason
Seed: No. 12
Record: 23-10 (12-6 Colonial Athletic Association)
NCAA bid: Automatic
RPI: 61
Coach: Jim Larranaga (Eleventh year at George Mason, third NCAA tournament)
Best player: Will Thomas. The burly senior forward started on the Final Four team two years ago and has improved his game since. Thomas averages 15.8 points and 10.9 rebounds and has a variety of nifty post moves.
Key stat: Point guard Dre Smith went 10-for-10 from three-point range against James Madison, then went 4-for-31 in his next six games.
Notable games: beat Kansas State 87-77; lost to Villanova 84-76; beat South Carolina 69-68
Record in last 12 games: 8-4
Last NCAA appearance: 2006, as a No. 11 seed; beat Michigan State 75-65, beat North Carolina 65-60; beat Wichita State 63-55; beat UConn 86-84; lost to Florida 73-58 in Final Four
Winthrop Eagles
Seed: No. 13
Record: 22-11 (10-4 Big South)
NCAA bid: Automatic
RPI: 108
Coach: Randy Peele (First year at Winthrop, first NCAA tournament)
Best player: Chris Gaynor. The senior guard leads the Winthrop attack. Gaynor averages 9.7 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals, which is good for third in the nation. He also shoots 43 percent from three and hit five threes in a win at Miami.
Key stat: Winthrop is shooting just 59.5 percent from the free-throw line, which ranks 325th out of 328 Division-I teams.
Notable games: beat Georgia Tech 72-58; lost at Baylor 62-54; lost at West Virginia 70-53; lost at Ole Miss 76-71; won at Miami 76-70; lost to Davidson 60-47
Record in last 12 games: 8-4
Last NCAA appearance: 2007, as No. 11 seed, beat Notre Dame 74-64, lost to Oregon 75-61 in second round
American Eagles
Seed: No. 15
Record: 21-11 (10-4 Patriot)
NCAA bid: Automatic
RPI: 91
Coach: Jeff Jones (Seventh year at American, first NCAA tournament)
Best player: Garrison Carr. The 5-foot-11 junior was the MVP of the Patriot League tourney and averaged 18.1 points per game and shot 45 percent from three for the season.
Key stat: American shoots 40.9 percent from three, good for sixth in the nation.
Notable games: won at Maryland 67-59; lost at Georgetown 78-51
Record in last 12 games: 10-2
Last NCAA appearance: This is American's first NCAA tournament
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
Seed: No. 16
Record: 19-14 (11-7 Northeast)
NCAA bid: Automatic
RPI: 159
Coach: Milan Brown (Fifth year at Mt. St. Mary's, first NCAA tournament)
Best Player: Jeremy Goode. The 5-9 sophomore averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 assists and scored 21 points in the play-in game win over Coppin State.
Key stat: The Mountaineers were outrebounded 17 times this season, going 6-11 in those games.
Notable games: lost at Oregon 81-73; lost at Oklahoma 81-57
Record in last 12 games: 9-3
Last NCAA appearance: 1999, as a No. 16 seed; lost to Michigan State 76-53
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