• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Spun

What's trending in the sports world today.

  • NFL
  • College Football
  • NBA
  • College Hoops
  • Interviews
  • About

Search The Spun ...

Close

March 18, 2020 @ 11:01am » Dan Lyons

ESPN Computer Projects Entire 2020 NCAA Tournament

Wisconsin cheerleaders fly Wisconsin banners at the NCAA Tournament in 2014.MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 20: Wisconsin Badgers cheerleaders enter the court with banners prior to the second round game of NCAA Basketball Tournament against the American University Eagles at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 20, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Decades ago, when the 2019-2020 college basketball season was still raging on, it was one of the craziest years we’d ever seen in the sport. We were very close to having three teams from outside of the power conferences as No. 1 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately, per Joe Lunardi, we would’ve wound up with two.

In his final bracket, published following the cancellation of the Tournament, Kansas was set to be the No. 1 overall seed. Conference mate Baylor also landed on the top line, along with small conference power Gonzaga and upstart Dayton led by player of the year hopeful Obi Toppin. Kentucky, Florida State, Creighton, and San Diego State finished as No. 2 seeds.

March Madness promised to be an all-time crazy event, based on how the regular season went. Unfortunately, we’ll never really know. ESPN decided to have some fun this week, and take a swing at it. Thankfully, it has the Basketball Power Index available to see one possible permutation.

Using the computer model, BPI simulated every game at exactly one time. Given the crazy, one-off nature of the Tournament, this seems the best way to go. Ultimately, it would have been a pretty wild ride. Here’s how things shook out:

We ran a single BPI sim of the NCAA tournament that never was.

Here’s the story of Simulation 2020: https://t.co/pI5caM97QR

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) March 18, 2020

A staple of the NCAA Tournament is double-digit seeds getting hot and making a run. Here’s how ESPN’s sim shook out in this regard:

No. 12 Liberty over No. 5 Auburn (Midwest)

No. 14 Hofstra over No. 3 Villanova (East)

No. 12 Yale over No. 5 Michigan (West)

No. 10 Texas Tech over No. 6 Arizona (West)

No. 14 Bradley over No. 3 Michigan State (South)

No. 10 USC over No. 7 Illinois (South)

It probably wouldn’t be the craziest first round we’ve ever seen, but two No. 14 seeds winning. That features a Hofstra shocker over recent national champion Villanova, and another early ouster of Michigan State at the hands of Bradley.

Things consider down that path in the second round:

No. 9 Marquette over No. 1 Kansas (Midwest)

No. 7 Providence over No. 2 Kentucky (Midwest)

No. 7 West Virginia over No. 2 Florida State (East)

No. 12 Yale over No. 4 Oregon (West)

No. 6 BYU over No. 2 San Diego State (West)

No. 6 Virginia over No. 2 Creighton (South)

No. 8 Saint Mary’s over No. 1 Baylor (South)

The projection continues to be pretty rough for the top seeds. Maryland takes down Dayton and Yale stuns Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. We wind up with a Final Four that might look somewhat familiar in terms of the names on the jerseys, if not the types of seed matchups that you usually see.

No. 4 Wisconsin over No. 4 Maryland

No. 6 BYU over No. 6 Virginia

I’m going to go ahead and guess that most of us wouldn’t have had Wisconsin making its run, at long last, this year. BYU is a really fun team, but a national championship berth going through the likes of Indiana, Seton Hall, San Diego State, upstart Baylor, and defending national champ Virginia? That would be impressive.

In the end, this projection has the Wisconsin Badgers winning the title. Oh what could have been.

[ESPN]


Filed Under: Baylor, BYU, College Hoops, Duke Blue Devils, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon, Penn State Nittany Lions, Providence, San Diego State, Seton Hall, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Top Stories, Villanova, Virginia, Wisconsin

About Dan Lyons

Dan is an Editor at The Spun.

Primary Sidebar

Search The Spun Here

What’s Trending

  • Adrian Martinez Reacts To Nebraska’s Significant Transfers
  • Report: Texas Tech Decides On New Basketball Coach
  • Aaron Rodgers Addresses Idea Of Hosting Jeopardy!, Not Retiring
  • Report: ESPN Had 1 Main Reason For Firing Paul Pierce
  • Veteran CB Quinton Dunbar Makes Free Agency Decision
  • More Trending

    Wes Welker running with the football for the Patriots.

    The 10 Biggest NFL Superstars To Go Undrafted

    The Masters - Round One

    Fans Are Furious Over Controversial Ruling During 1st Round At The Masters

    More Trending

  • Anonymous NFL Agent Has Telling Comment On Aaron Rodgers
  • Report: 1 Major Difference Between Steve Sarkisian, Tom Herman
  • College Football World Reacts To UCF’s Creative Jerseys
  • Fans React To Eddie George Landing Head Coaching Job
  • John Harbaugh’s Story About Lamar Jackson Incident Going Viral
  • Eddie George Reportedly Lands College Head Coaching Job
  • Houston Texans Reporter Speaks Out After Losing His Job
  • Video: Insane Boxing Knockout Punch Is Going Viral
  • Sign Up For Our Emails

    • Privacy Policy / Terms Of Use
    • Coverage By Team

    Copyright © 2021 The Spun · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.

    • NFL
    • College Football
    • NBA
    • College Hoops
    • Interviews
    • About
    • Search
    • Privacy Policy / Terms Of Use
    • Coverage By Team
    • April 11, 2021
    • 6 mins ago
      Deion Sanders Reacts To Eddie George Coaching News
    • 47 mins ago
      Browns Could Reportedly Get Major Free Agency News Monday
    • 2 hours ago
      NBA Top Shot Announces Major ‘Holo’ Drop Is Coming
    • 2 hours ago
      Paige Spiranac Reacts To Hideki Matsuyama Winning The Masters
    • 2 hours ago
      Tiger Woods Reacts To Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters Victory
    • 2 hours ago
      Hideki Matsuyama’s Caddie’s Reaction To Winning Masters Going Viral
    • 3 hours ago
      Golf Fans React To Hideki Matsuyama’s Win At The Masters
    • 3 hours ago
      Insane Stat About Jerry Rice’s Career Is Going Viral
    • 4 hours ago
      Golf World Reacts To Hideki Matsuyama’s Regretful Decision
    • 4 hours ago
      Paige Spiranac Wants 1 Thing ‘Banned’ At Golf Courses
    • 4 hours ago
      John Daly Has Bold Prediction For Tiger Woods’ Future
    • 4 hours ago
      Golf Fans React To Bryson DeChambeau’s Disappointing Performance