Coming Next from Digital Hoops Blast: The NCAA Tournament played out in the world of Marketing...

This year's tournament feels different than most. Perhaps it's because we now have a Sweet 16 field with 4 true mid-majors (Northern Iowa, Saint Mary's, Cornell, & Xavier). But it is clear that this is a year in which high majors are being challenged by mid-majors.

And that has inspired a new journey for Digital Hoops Blast. Every day colleges are going head-to-head in a battle for share of a recruit's mind. So with that, we're going to take the next several weeks and evaluate the field of 65 from a marketing point of view.

We'll go through this team by team, region by region and give you a look at a breakdown of the field, in search of inspiration. For each team, you'll find:

• 3 inspiring things that we can all learn from. It's these 3 things that are likely to help the team advance in the marketing version of the NCAA Tournament (coming soon!)
• Facebook & Twitter. This is the daily opportunity to connect with recruits and fans, in their worlds. And these can also be drivers back into the athletics site, much like a pair of good guards who can put the rock in the hands of their big when he's in a position to succeed.
• The coach. Can we learn about his style, system, or personality?
• Where they are vulnerable. This is both an opportunity to improve and an area that could hurt them in a tough matchup.

And of course, we'll then unveil what the tournament would look like if it weren't played out on the courts, but rather on the internet.

Without further adieu, we'll get moving tomorrow, with the East Region...