When Virginia’s name popped up as the No. 2 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, it didn’t surprise me. I wasn’t disappointed or miffed at the committee either.

Even though I thought UVa projected as a better pick than Duke for the No. 1 seed in the South Region, the line between two teams at that point is narrow. While I had the two teams flip-flopped due to UVa’s ACC Regular Season Championship, it’s reasonable enough to see Duke there due to quality road wins and a head-to-head win against the Hoos. The Blue Devils’ reward was the top seed line. Virginia’s reward is the East Region, meaning all games before the Final Four will be in the eastern time zone and within driving distance for fans.

That’s fair enough for me. Seeding quickly gives way to match-ups anyway. UVa picked up some interesting possibilities in its pod in that regard.

No. 15 seed Belmont likes to fire away from 3-point range, taking 48.2% of its shots from behind the arc this season. The Bruins hit those jumpers at a 38.2% clip. On the other side of the ledger in Charlotte is the 7-10 matchup between Michigan State and Georgia, the only 7-10 match that features both teams from power conferences. The Spartans picked things up down the stretch to get off the bubble and are arguably a bit under-seeded. They feature three guards in Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine, and Bryn Forbes that average more than 25 minutes per game this season while taking more than 48% of their shots from 3-point range. Add in Branden Dawson, who ripped up the Wahoos in last season’s tournament game, and it is a tough draw. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, spread the floor and use a lot of guards with a stretch forward type in Nemanja Djurisic.

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