NCAA Tournament Simulation: We Have Our Final Four Including One Major Surprise In This Fan Fiction Blog
So we don't have the NCAA Tournament. Well, at least not on our TV. But we have it here on Barstool. Thanks to WhatIfSports we have a website that will simulate these games for us. Every day that we're supposed to have games we'll have simulations for that round. We're onto the Elite Eight, personally the best round of the Tournament. For the sake of simplicity I'm using Lunardi's last bracket before everything went to shit.
Reminder, this is all being simulated on WhatIfSports. They play the game on a neutral court, spit out play by play, box scores and an overall score. I'm not picking anything, etc. This is all computer simulated to determine a fake champion. Get your picks in now.
Sunday March 29 - Elite Eight Games
Before we get started let's set the scene. We forgot to blog yesterday's games, so we have 4 today. Weirder things have happened in sports, so just go with it. A bizarre Elite Eight with Richmond, LSU and Rutgers all advancing so far. We have a battle of blue bloods with Kansas vs Kentucky. Hit the damn music
East Region
No. 12 Richmond vs No. 3 Villanova
Holy shit what an upset. Again, that's the beauty and worst part of the NCAA Tournament. It's an awesome way to determine a champion but the worst way to determine anything about a best team or anything like that. Richmond also joins VCU as a First Four to Final Four team - at least in this make believe world. So how does it happen? This is the end of OT:
Not sure why Bryan Antoine is getting the last shot here for Nova. But, then again before Jay Wright won two titles, Dylan Ennis got the last shot against NC State despite Phil Booth being the hot hand. You have the Cayo floater for the game-winner too. But, really this was apparently the Blake Francis game. 14-for-28 from the field, 37 points. That's some Jimmer or Dougie McBuckets shit. Congrats to Richmond.
Winner: Richmond 94-92 (OT)
South Region
No. 9 Rutgers vs No. 2 Creighton
Yeah, this one feels right. I mean granted it's a free website that's simulating games and we're just plugging in the results, this one feels right. How many times do we see a Cinderella like Rutgers make a run to the Sweet 16/Elite 8 and then just run out of gas? Feel like that typically happens vs what we saw with fake Richmond. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Assuming Marcus Zegarowski was going to play in the NCAA Tournament, Creighton is on the short list of teams that are most devastated about no NCAA Tournament. This was their best chance to make a Final Four. I loved their guard play - most notably Ty-Shon Alexander, who could actually lock people up too. So here they are. Congrats to Creighton on the Final Four in this prestigious fake Tournament.
Winner: Creighton 80-64
West Region
No. 8 LSU vs No. 7 Arizona
Sean Miller did it! By God Sean Miller did it! The man who was consistently bashed for not making a Final Four with some of those loaded teams, makes it with a team that looked good on paper but lost pretty much every big game they played. They get there getting past Will Wade in the FBI investigation special. Arizona makes a Final Four thanks to two freshmen in Nico Mannion and Zeke Nnaji. I will say this about them. It made no sense why they couldn't win big games. They were loved by computers - top-20 in KenPom and NET. Maybe they just figure it out in March? We have our third team in the Final Four.
Winner: Arizona 84-73
Midwest Region
No. 2 Kentucky vs No. 1 Kansas
Oh what the fuck, I even get my heart ripped out in a fake simulation? Are you kidding me? Of course it happens like this too
A missed FT to go up 3 but instead a contested three at the buzzer to lose? This is bullshit. I get that Kansas was a favorite. I get that they are a favorite to win the whole thing. But I've had to deal with Luke Maye, PJ Washington missing FTs against Kansas State and the collapse against Auburn the last 3 Tournaments. I deserve another Final Four here. I deserve to watch another title here. Whatever, I hate this fake Tournament.
Winner: Kansas 92-91
Updated bracket