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).

Round of 32 games in Albany, NY:

2 Villanova 75
10 Arizona St 63

Very close and competitive 1st half with several lead changes and neither team leading by more than 4 the entire half. Villanova has 31-30 halftime lead. Villanova leads the entire 2nd half, but for the first 14 minutes they can't build a lead of more than 5. They finally extend the lead to 9 points after a Jermaine Samuels 3 pointer with 5:17 remaining. Arizona St cuts it to 6, but a couple baskets by Justin Moore and one from Jeremiah Robinson-Earl puts the game out of reach. Player of the game is Justin Moore with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.


13 Vermont 53
5 Ohio St 84

Ohio St jumps out to a 16-4 lead less than 4 minutes in and never looks back as Vermont never really has a chance in this one. Ohio St is up 40-21 at halftime. Vermont does come out hot in the 2nd half going on a 12-0 run to pull within 7, but that's the closes they'd get as Ohio St would score the next 9 points and then cruise from there. Player of the game is Kaleb Wesson with 29 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.


Round of 32 games in Tampa, FL:

4 Kentucky 70
5 Butler 65

Butler races to an early 10-2 lead. Kentucky slowly narrows the gap and takes the lead 18-17 on a Keion Brooks slam at the 8:42 mark. Jordan Tucker responds for Butler with a 3 pointer to put Butler back on top. Butler maintains the lead and extends it to 6 right before the half. Butler then scores the first 5 points of the 2nd half to extend the lead to 11. Butler is still up 50-38 at the 13:36 mark when Kentucky starts to make a run. Kentucky scores 15 of the next 17 points let by Tyrese Maxey and EJ Montgomery to take a 55-52 lead with 7:26 left. A Sean McDermott 3 pointer ties the game at 57 with 6:17 left, but Montgomery quickly score a layup on the next possession to keep Kentucky in front. Bryce Nze pulls Butler back within 1 after connecting on a runner in the lane with 0:54 left. Kentucky responds with a basket of their own with only 0:29 on the clock. Butler misses their 3 point attempt and is forced to play the fouling game. Kentucky makes 4 FTs down the stretch to clinch the 5 point win. Player of the game is EJ Montgomer with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.


15 Little Rock 74
10 Oklahoma 56

Close game early, but some solid defense by Little Rock allows them to slowly build a lead and they are up 17-9 with 9 minutes left in the half. They are still up 26-19 with under 3 minutes left. Oklahoma closes the half on a 7-2 run to pull within 2 at the break. Oklahoma pulls within 1 early in the 2nd half, but a 9-0 run by Little Rock gives them a 10 point lead. They maintain the lead and later in the half put together another 9-0 run to extend it to 60-41. They cruise from there as Oklahoma isn't able to get any closer than 13 the rest the way. Little Rock looks like the Cinderella of the tournament advancing to the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed. Player of the game is Markquis Nowell with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.


Next update will be St. Louis (1 Baylor vs 8 Illinois, 3 Creighton vs 11 Richmond) and Spokane (1 Gonzaga vs 8 Arizona, 14 Eastern Washington vs 6 BYU). Too much other stuff to do tonight so that will wait until tomorrow.