After plenty of closely-contested round of 64 matchups, we’re on to the round of 32 in the Star’s computer simulation of the NCAA Tournament.
It’s also the end of the line for the seventh-seeded ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats, who squeaked past Texas Tech in overtime in Round 1 only to earn a showdown with San Diego State in Round 2.
The big questions today: Can North Texas, Tennessee State, Utah State and others continue their Cinderella run?
Or will the top dogs of the bracket prevail?
Settle in, grab your popcorn, bracket and a sharpie. We’ve got some basketball to simulate, thanks to .
Upsets in bold:
North Texas' Javion Hamlet (3) drives around VCU's Marcus Evans (2) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Richmond, Va., Friday, Nov. 8, 2019 .(AP Photo/Parker Michels-Boyce)
Midwest Region
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No. 1 Kansas 73, No. 9 Marquette 70
No. 13 North Texas 81, No. 5 Auburn 74
No. 3 Duke 74, No. 11 East Tennessee State 68
No. 2 Kentucky 69, No. 7 Providence 66
Florida forward Keyontae Johnson (11) goes for the dunk against Kentucky forward Nick Richards (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Youngblood)
East Region
No. 9 Florida 75, No. 1 Dayton 70
No. 4 Maryland 86, No. 12 Richmond 76
No. 3 Villanova 72, No. 11 UCLA 68
No. 10 Utah State 71, No. 2 Florida State 59
FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu drives to the basket past Iowa guard Connor McCaffery, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Iowa City, Iowa. Dosunmu was selected to the Associated Press All-Big Ten team selected Tuesday, March 10, 2020.(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
South Region
No. 1 Baylor 68, No. 9 Rutgers 64
No. 5 Ohio State 81, No. 4 Louisville 75
No. 3 Michigan State 73, No. 11 Cincinnati 65
No. 7 Illinois 74, No. 2 Creighton 69
Oregon guard Payton Pritchard (3) drives to the basket against California guard Paris Austin (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)
West Region
No. 1 Gonzaga 82, No. 9 Oklahoma 63
No. 4 Oregon 83, No. 12 Yale 79
No. 3 Seton Hall 76, No. 6 BYU 73
No. 2 San Diego State 81, No. 7 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ 64
WhatIfSports has Wildcats losing by 17Â
Offense a no-show for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats in season-ending 81-64 loss to Aztecs
As the theme has been several times throughout an up-and-down season for No. 7 seed ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, another slow-start offensively spelled trouble for the Wildcats and this time, it ended the season in the virtual world.Â
No. 2 seeded San Diego State scored on its first possession of the game and from there it only got worse for Sean Miller and co. The Cats fell behind 15-4 with four turnovers within the first four minutes and never recovered. The game might as well have been called at half as 10 3’s from the Aztecs put the Cats staring at a 54-27 hole at the break.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ did make the game closer in the second half coming out of the locker room on an extended 20-6 run to cut the deficit to 13, but the Aztecs buried back-to-back 3’s after the under 12 timeout which all but emptied the hope of a comeback.
SDSU proved that experience does matter in March as it relied on its bevy of veterans to slice up the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ defense every which way. 4 different SDSU upperclassmen scored in double-figures.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 24 of 64 (37.5%) shooting performance was countered by the Aztecs’ 29 of 59 (49%) showing, but what wreaked havoc for the Cats was the 3-pointers. SDSU — which ranked top 40 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (9.1) — sank 13 of 29 from long range compared to just 7of 23 from UA.Â
Freshman guard Nico Mannion particularly struggled from deep, making just 3 of 8 and scoring 15 points on 6 of 16 shooting total. Zeke Nnaji was an offensive force as usual with a team-high 19 points (8 of 14).Â
SDSU junior point guard Malachi Flynn drilled 4 3-pointers en route to his 15-point night while also tallying a team-high five assists and three steals. 6-foot-10 senior Yanni Wetzell handled the inside with a 7-8 shooting performance and a team-high 17 points.Â
UA's simulated season may be over but we have the rest of the bracket to finish starting with the Sweet 16 in tomorrow's Star.Â
Alec has been with the Star since October 2019. He’s currently a senior at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and previously worked as sports editor for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Daily Wildcat.Â
Alec White
Digital Sports Producer & Reporter
