Welcome back all and a very happy Sunday! I hope everyone is staying safe, calm, and positive as we continue to navigate through this unchartered territory. As you know, I've been doing my best to keep March Madness alive in my own little way by simulating the entire NCAA Tournament using my Official 2020 March Madness Bracket. I released the bracket the Saturday of Selection weekend (2 weeks ago yesterday). We started with the full field of 68, went through the play-in games, the opening round, Round of 32, Sweet 16, and Elite 8, to get all the way down to the Final Four!
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That's where we pick back up as I'm back again with the results to the two Final Four National Semifinal games! The simulation has had some fun with us to this point - there have been some major upsets & surprises - how about 14-seed Boston U. to the Sweet 16? And of course one of those big surprises are the 12-seed Indiana Hoosiers, who were one of the last 4 in the field. Not only did they have to sneak past Xavier by a single point in one of the "first four" play-in games just to make the regular bracket of 64, they have made an unlikely run all-the-way to the Final Four.
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That would actually make the Hoosiers the first 12-seed to ever advance to the Final Four. (4) #11-seeds have reached the Final Four in NCAA tournament history, with Loyola-Chicago being the last to do it 2 years ago. So, the sim is definitely having some fun with us, as not only was Indiana advancing out of the South Region a surprise, but their opponent in the Final Four, Penn State, advancing out of the West Region was another surprise.
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The Nittany Lions were one of the hottest teams in the country at one point, getting to 20-5, ranked in the top 10, and atop the Big TEN, but they finished just 1-5 down the stretch, and saw their seed # tumble from the 3-4 range down to a 7. The Nittany Lions showed up in the NCAA tournament, though, and after upsetting #2 seed San Diego State, had thr fortune of playing a 14-seed in Boston U. & 8-seed Colorado to reach their spot in the Final Four.
That brings us to our first National Semifinal showdown, as a couple of surprise teams out of the Big TEN met in what turned out to be a terrific game. The Hoosiers' incredible run, finally came to a halt, however. In a gritty game from start to finish, Penn State took a 29-25 advantage into the locker room, but the Hoosiers tied it up early in the second half, and the two stay deadlocked pretty much right up until the final horn.
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With the game tied at 57-57, the Nittany Lions hit a jumper with just 3.2 seconds to play to win it, and advance on to their first NCAA tournament National Championship game. 3 players led the way in double-figures for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions will now look to join the 2014 UConn Huskies as the only other #7 seed to win the NCAA tournament.
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That brings us to our other National Semifinal showdown, a much-more likely matchup between the 4-seed in the Midwest Region, Wisconsin, and the 3-seed in the East Region, Kentucky. The Badgers won a couple of games they were expected to, then upset top-overall seed, Kansas by 3, and then scored another minor upset of 2-seed Florida State in the Elite 8.
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The Wildcats actually had their toughest game in the opening round against 14-seed Hofstra, before routing Arizona State, then getting past Duke & Louisville by 11 & 12 points, respectively. So, who advanced on to face Penn State in the Title game?
In a game that had all the makings of a classic, Kentucky was able to shoot effectively and build a 39-28 halftime lead. The Badgers battled-back in the second half and were within striking distance for most of the half, getting it to within 5 on several occasions, but the Wildcats finished the game strong, and used a 12-2 closing run to pull away for the surprisingly easy 67-49 victory. Wisconsin went ice-cold down the stretch, managing 0 field goals in the last 4 minutes.
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It was a fun run for my Badgers, but alas, they come up short in the Final Four. Kentucky closed the season by winning 9 of 10 to secure the SEC regular season Title, and that momentum has carried over into the simulation as they will now battle Penn State tomorrow for the National Championship.
I hope you all are enjoying the simulation, it has certainly been a lot of fun, full of surprises, curveballs, and some great games. As previously noted, I only did one sim (not 10,000 or 100, etc.) & whatever it threw at us, so be it, and it hasn't disappointed. As always, I appreciate the support and would love to get your thoughts in the comments section below. Who do you have winning the National Title game? The traditional blueblood Wildcats, or the upstart Nittany Lions? I will back again tomorrow to give you the result and crown our National Champion. In the mean time, stay calm, stay safe, and stay positive!
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Be sure to checkout yesterday's video recapping the two Semifinal games!:
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https://youtu.be/8Zd3duv2j8o
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Chris Elgersma
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Remember to find me on Instagram & YouTube as well -
@sportsguychris
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