Since there is going to be no NCAA tournament this year, I decided to do a simulation of the NCAA tournament based upon my final projected bracket for the season (http://rfsbracketscience.blogspot.com/p/current-projected-bracket.html). Rather than simply do a quick W/L simulation I decided I wanted to go a little more in-depth with it. I adjusted the depth charts for the teams based on minutes played in recent games and used some online software to project the outcomes along with play-by-play. Here I will include the results of the games along w/ a brief recap. This will be broken up into different segments and will likely be posted over the course of several days (as there is no way I'm going to do this all in 1 sitting).

Games played in Albany in the round of 64:

2 Villanova 87
15 North Dakota St 69

Game is close in the first half. North Dakota St takes early 13-7 lead. Villanova picks it up and takes an 8 point lead, but North Dakota St makes a run and is only down 1 point at the half. Villanova starts the 2nd half on 10-0 run and really never looks back from there winning by 18 points. Player of the game is Jeremiah Robinson-Earl with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists.

7 Penn St 69
10 Arizona St 82

Arizona St makes four 3-pointers in first 6 minutes of the game to open up early 20-6 lead. Penn St slowly eats away at the lead and cuts it to 2 with 3 minutes left in the half. However, ASU ends the half on a 10-3 run to go up 9 at the break. They then start 2nd half on 16-3 run opening up a 22 lead and then coast to the 13 point win. Arizona St shoots 10-18 from 3 in the game. Player of the game is Remy Martin with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

4 Seton Hall 70
13 Vermont 76

Seton Hall start on 6-0 run and maintains a 5 to 6 point lead much of the 1st half and is up 26-21 with 5 minutes to go in the half. Vermont goes on a 15-2 run to end the half with an 11 point lead. Things play pretty even in 2nd half. With 3 minutes left in game Seton Hall goes on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 2 with 1:27 left. They trade a couple baskets and Vermont makes its FTs down the stretch to pull off the upset. Player of the game is Anthony Lamb with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals.

5 Ohio St 71
12 Yale 65

First half is very competitive with multiple ties and lead changes. Yale hits 3 point shot with 1 minute left in half to take 3 point lead into the locker room. They expand it to an 8 point lead early in the 2nd half. Ohio St makes a run and takes the lead with about 11 minutes left in the game. They then extend the lead to as many as 9 points. Yale makes a late push to get within 4 with just 14 seconds left but can't get any closer than that. Player of the game is Kaleb Wesson with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists.


Games played in Tampa in the round of 64:

4 Kentucky 74
13 Liberty 65

Kentucky races out to an early 7-2 lead. They push it to a 21-12 lead with just under 9 minutes left in the half. Teams play pretty even the rest of the half, but Liberty makes buzzer beating 3 pointer to cut the lead to 4 at the break. Liberty starts the 2nd half on a 7-2 run to take their first lead of the game (41-40). Kentucky responds with a 13-2 run of their own to take control. Game remains around a 10 point margin the rest of the game. Player of the game is Tyrese Maxey with 23 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.

5 Butler 80
12 Akron 62

Akron start with quick 5-2 lead. Butler then goes on a 20-4 to go up 13 with 8 minutes left in the half. It's pretty back and forth from there and Butler leads 41-27 at halftime. Akron cuts the lead to 8 with about 13 minutes left, but a 16-0 run by Butler over the next 4 minutes puts the game away and Butler coasts to an 80-62 win. Player of the game is Kamar Baldwin with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

2 Florida St 75
15 Little Rock 85

Little Rock starts out with a 14-6 lead. Florida St responds with a 15-3 run of their own and ends up taking a 32-29 lead into the half. Game stay close and competitive through the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half with Florida St leading 54-51 with 12 minutes to go. Little Rock then goes on a 14-0 run to take and 11 point lead. Florida St cuts it to 3 with about 2:30 left and again with just over 1 minute left. However, Markquis Nowell is 6-6 from FT line down the stretch with Rout Monyyong adding a couple more to seal the HUGE upset win for Little Rock. Leading scorer is Markquis Nowell 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 14-14 from the FT line. However, player of the game is Ruot Monyyong with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots.

7 LSU 77
10 Oklahoma 84

Oklahoma leads the entire first half but never by more than 7 points. LSU keeps it close and ties it a few times. They cut the lead to 1 with 43 seconds left, but Brady Manek from Oklahoma makes a contested 3 point shot at the buzzer to go up 35-31 at halftime. 2nd half is very back and forth with several ties and lead changes. LSU is up 71-69 with just over 2 minutes left when Manek from Oklahoma scores a 4 point play (3 point make w an and-1). They add another FT and a 3 pointer to take 6 point lead with less than a minute left. LSU makes a couple 3 pointers, but Oklahoma is 7-8 from the FT line to secure the victory. Player of the game is Brady Manek with 27 points and 6 rebounds.