Duke played most of the ACC tournament without Cooper Flagg, the consensus national player of the year favorite and a near-lock to be the first pick of the NBA Draft, and still won that title.

Cooper Flagg's health is the biggest storyline in the East Region as top-seeded Duke awaits the return of its freshman sensation. The Blue Devils beat North Carolina and Louisville in the ACC Tournament without the ACC Player of the Year,

Vanderbilt has a chance if it can get out in transition and knock down a bunch of threes, but Saint Mary's plays a perfect brand of ball to counter that, limiting turnovers, getting the ball inside to its bigs and holding opponents under 31% from three.