Duke was treated like the overall No. 1 seed, given a region with few legitimate challengers, especially because second-seeded Alabama could be without star forward Grant Nelson due to a knee injury.

The No. 8 Mississippi State/No. 9 Baylor winner won’t be much of a threat.

Duke already won at No. 4 Arizona, and third-seeded Wisconsin has defensive issues that will limit its ability to advance.

There is depth in the East, from sixth-seeded BYU, which has knocked off the likes of Iowa State (twice), Kansas and Arizona in recent weeks, to WCC regular-season champion and seventh-seed Saint Mary’s.