2020 NCAA Tournament: Who Would Have Won?
Everyone loves hypotheticals. Let’s hop in our time machine for a minute and consider one for a minute. As everyone knows, the 2020 NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many conference tournaments were not completed and a bracket was never finalized. If the season went on as normal, who would have come out on top? So many teams were peaking at the right time, making for what could have been a phenomenal tournament. We’re going to simulate our way through the 2020 Tournament That Never Was.
Setting Up the Bracket
If a bracket was never finalized, how can we simulate anything? Glad you asked. There’s a website called The Bracket Matrix that ranks every single bracketologist for their accuracy once the final bracket is released. In the two years before 2020, the most accurate bracketologist in the country was Crazy Sports Dude. Lucky for us, CSD released his Final 2020 Bracketology right before conference championship week. Because he has the proven track record of accuracy via The Bracket Matrix, this simulation is rolling with his final projection. Simulations were done through ncaagamesim.com.
In case you missed it, Jimmer Range did this entire simulation over on our TikTok account. Go check it out!
Simulating the 2020 NCAA Tournament
First Four
No. 16 North Carolina Central def. No. 16 Prairie View A&M 78-67
No. 16 St. Francis (PA) def. No. 16 Siena 73-61
No. 11 Xavier def. No. 11 Stanford 74-57
No. 12 Richmond def. No. 12 Cincinnati 85-72
Round of 64
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 16 North Carolina Central 80-63
No. 9 Florida def. No. 8 Providence 76-58
No. 4 Wisconsin def. No. 13 Vermont 68-52
No. 5 Ohio State def. No. 12 Yale 78-68
No. 2 Villanova def. No. 15 UC Irvine 74-48
No. 10 Texas Tech def. No. 7 Virginia 69-68
No. 3 Duke def. No. 14 Bradley 88-76
No. 11 Utah State def. No. 6 Michigan 72-59
No. 1 Dayton def. No. 16 Northern Kentucky 78-67
No. 8 Arizona def. No. 9 Rutgers 7–68
No. 4 Kentucky def. No. 13 New Mexico State 66-60
No. 5 BYU def. No. 12 Richmond 78-49
No. 2 San Diego State def. No. 15 Arkansas-Little Rock 93-72
No. 7 Houston def. No. 10 Indiana 70-61
No. 14 Belmont def. No. 3 Seton Hall 72-65
No. 11 East Tennessee State def. No. 6 West Virginia 72-69
No. 1 Baylor def. No. 16 St. Francis (PA) 87-75
No. 8 LSU def. No. 9 USC 64-57
No.4 Louisville def. No. 13 North Texas 75-67
No. 5 Auburn def. No. 12 Liberty 73-55
No. 2 Creighton def. No. 15 Eastern Washington 73-69
No. 7 Illinois def. No. 10 Arizona State 76-67
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 14 Colgate 61-54
No. 11 Wichita State def. No. 6 Iowa 86-69
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 16 Winthrop 78-61
No. 9 Marquette def. No. 8 Saint Mary’s 80-60
No. 4 Oregon def. No. 13 Akron 59-46
No. 12 Stephen F. Austin def. No. 5 Butler 75-67
No. 2 Florida State def. No. 15 North Dakota State 83-73
No. 10 Oklahoma def. No. 7 Colorado 73-66
No. 3 Maryland def. No. 14 Hofstra 92-71
No. 6 Penn State def. No. 11 Xavier 80-59
Round of 32
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 9 Florida 67-53
No. 4 Wisconsin def. No. 5 Ohio State 64-53
No. 2 Villanova def. No. 10 Texas Tech 80-65
No. 3 Duke def. No. 11 Utah State 95-80
No. 1 Dayton def. No. 8 Arizona 89-60
No. 4 Kentucky def. No. 5 BYU 73-60
No. 7 Houston def. No. 2 San Diego State 72-67
No. 11 East Tennessee State def. No. 14 Belmont 86-64
No. 1 Baylor def. No. 8 LSU 82-65
No. 5 Auburn def. No. 4 Louisville 93-84
No. 7 Illinois def. No. 2 Creighton 69-59
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 11 Wichita State 80-60
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 9 Marquette 72-60
No. 4 Oregon def. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin 81-55
No. 2 Florida State def. No. 10 Oklahoma 62-59
No. 3 Maryland def. No. 6 Penn State 77-76
Sweet Sixteen
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 4 Wisconsin 80-64
No. 3 Duke def. No. 2 Villanova 78-74
No. 4 Kentucky def. No. 1 Dayton 66-51
No. 7 Houston def. No. 11 East Tennessee State 66-51
No. 5 Auburn def. No. 1 Baylor 63-60
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 7 Illinois 68-61
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 4 Oregon 87-85
No. 2 Florida State def. No. 3 Maryland 79-77
Elite Eight
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 3 Duke 85-69
No. 4 Kentucky def. No. 7 Houston 73-64
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 5 Auburn 85-68
No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 2 Florida State 86-70
Final Four
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 4 Kentucky 79-62
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 1 Gonzaga 78-67
National Championship
No. 3 Michigan State def. No. 1 Kansas 78-76 (OT)
Michigan State comes out on top of our simulated tournament in an overtime win against Kansas! In the championship game, Cassius Winston scored 29 points to go with seven assists. Xavier Tillman added 15 points and 16 rebounds. The final bracket in all its glory is available here. Go watch the Jimmer Range TikTok series if you want to see all the results and stats play out!
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