2014-2015 Ultimate what-if sports NCAA Tournament

[collegesportsfanms]

Group 55

Week 10

LSU- 71, Purdue- 67
Manhattan- 84, SIU Edwardsville- 72
Robert Morris- 71, Bradley- 39

Wow! Robert Morris left no doubt that they wanted to have a chance to advance!

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Final Group 55 Standings

#1- LSU 8-2 (+60)
#2- Purdue 7-3 (+58)
#3- Robert Morris 6-4 (+41)
#4- SIU Edwardsville 4-6 (-6)
#5- Manhattan 4-6 (-23)
#6- Bradley 1-9 (-130)

LSU wins the group, and while the 8-2 record is nice, the point differential is towards the bottom of the 8-2 group winners. They'll be either the 38th or 39th seed (I can really get specific on seedings now with the last group coming up). Purdue finishes 2nd, not a bad point differential for 7-3 group runner-ups, they'll be either the 74th or 7th seed. Robert Morris does exactly what they needed to do. Not only do they give themselves a chance, but they actually knock several teams down in the wildcard chase and clinch a spot in the round of 128. St. Mary's, Air Force, and UNC Asheville all will move down a seed, and Vermont has to survive group 56 to advance now, instead of advancing out of this group. We do say goodbye to Columbia, who survived 4 groups I think? Or maybe only 3. Here's the wildcard standings as we go to the final group:

#4 Wisconsin 7-3 (+71) CLINCHED
E. Tenn. St. 7-3 (+56) CLINCHED
Winthrop 7-3 (+46) CLINCHED
California 7-3 (+45) CLINCHED
N. Florida 7-3 (+30) CLINCHED
UMKC 7-3 (+27) CLINCHED
Incarnate Word 6-4 (+74) CLINCHED
N.C. State 6-4 (+63) CLINCHED
Long Beach St. 6-4 (+53) CLINCHED
High Point 6-4 (+50) CLINCHED
Missouri 6-4 (+50) CLINCHED
Robert Morris 6-4 (+41) CLINCHED
St. Mary's 6-4 (+40) CLINCHED
Air Force 6-4 (+37) CLINCHED
UNC Asheville 6-4 (+32) CLINCHED
Vermont 6-4 (+31)
Columbia 6-4 (+30) ELIMINATED
Toledo 6-4 (+28) ELIMINATED
Santa Clara 6-4 (+28) ELIMINATED
Buffalo 6-4 (+22) ELIMINATED
UCLA 6-4 (+19) ELIMINATED
San Diego 6-4 (+12) ELIMINATED
Belmont 6-4 (+11) ELIMINATED
Stony Brook 6-4 (+8) ELIMINATED
UTEP 6-4 (+7) ELIMINATED
Radford 6-4 (+7) ELIMINATED
Bryant 6-4 (+2) ELIMINATED
UAB 6-4 (-2) ELIMINATED
Colorado St. 6-4 (-3) ELIMINATED
C. Michigan 6-4 (-4) ELIMINATED
Coastal Carolina 6-4 (-5) ELIMINATED
South Florida 6-4 (-16) ELIMINATED
Delaware St. 6-4 (-18) ELIMINATED
Texas Tech 5-5 (+47) ELIMINATED
Longwood 5-5 (+31) ELIMINATED
Duquesne 5-5 (+27) ELIMINATED
Gardner Webb 5-5 (+22) ELIMINATED
Butler 5-5 (+18) ELIMINATED
Albany 5-5 (+10) ELIMINATED
Michigan 5-5 (+9) ELIMINATED
UNLV 5-5 (+7) ELIMINATED
Drake 5-5 (+5) ELIMINATED
E. Illinois 5-5 (+2) ELIMINATED
Rider 5-5 (+1) ELIMINATED
Quinnipiac 5-5 (0) ELIMINATED
Mercer 5-5 (-4) ELIMINATED
Denver 5-5 (-5) ELIMINATED
Auburn 5-5 (-10) ELIMINATED
Mid. Tenn. 5-5 (-24) ELIMINATED
SE MO State 5-5 (-31) ELIMINATED
Jacksonville St. 5-5 (-43) ELIMINATED
Norfolk St. 5-5 (-44) ELIMINATED
Minnesota 4-6 (+6) ELIMINATED
Evansville 4-6 (-42) ELIMINATED
Northridge 4-6 (-45) ELIMINATED

So we go down to the final group. 3 of the 7 teams that are still alive will advance to the round of 128. As for the wildcard, will it be Vermont? Or will it be a team from group 56 that gets the 128th seed? Stay tuned.

[collegesportsfanms]

Group 56

Louisiana Tech (Conference USA, 27-9, 15-3)
Richmond (Atlantic 10, 21-14, 12-6)
St. Francis Brooklyn (Northeast, 23-12, 15-3)
Washington State (Pac 12, 13-18, 7-11)
Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley, 12-18, 4-12)
Youngstown State (Horizon, 11-21, 2-14)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Week 1

St. Francis Brooklyn- 68, Washington State- 58
Louisiana Tech- 73, Youngstown State- 63
Richmond- 66, Tennessee Tech- 64

Week 2

Washington State- 83, Youngstown State- 69
Richmond- 60, St. Francis Brooklyn- 49
Louisiana Tech- 85, Tennessee Tech- 76

Week 3

Washington State- 83, Louisiana Tech- 80
St. Francis Brooklyn- 79, Tennessee Tech- 69 (OT)
Richmond- 72, Youngstown State- 60

Week 4

Tennessee Tech- 69, Youngstown State- 64
Louisiana Tech- 74, St. Francis Brooklyn- 61
Richmond- 50, Washington State- 45

Week 5

Richmond- 79, Louisiana Tech- 70
Youngstown State- 71, St. Francis Brooklyn- 61
Tennessee Tech- 74, Washington State- 64

-----------------------------------------------------------

Standings after 5 weeks, with point differential in parenthesis:

Richmond 5-0 (+39)
Louisiana Tech 3-2 (+20)
St. Francis Brooklyn 2-3 (-14)
Tennessee Tech 2-3 (-6)
Washington State 2-3 (-8)
Youngstown State 1-4 (-31)

[collegesportsfanms]

Group 56

Week 6

Washington State- 70, St. Francis Brooklyn- 69
Youngstown State- 73, Louisiana Tech- 63
Tennessee Tech- 73, Richmond- 54

A week of upsets here, not a good start to weeks 6-9.

Week 7

Washington State- 73, Youngstown State- 59
St. Francis Brooklyn- 63, Richmond- 61
Tennessee Tech- 70, Louisiana Tech- 60

This group is quickly becoming wide open.

Week 8

Louisiana Tech- 81, Washington State- 62
Tennessee Tech- 66, St. Francis Brooklyn- 65
Youngstown State- 50, Richmond- 39

Richmond has now lost 3 in a row after going undefeated in the 1st half of group play.

Week 9

Tennessee Tech- 68, Youngstown State- 63
St. Francis Brooklyn- 71, Louisiana Tech- 62
Richmond- 67, Washington State- 65

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Standings after 9 weeks, with point differential in parenthesis:

Richmond 6-3 (+9)
Tennessee Tech 6-3 (+29)
Louisiana Tech 4-5 (+10)
St. Francis Brooklyn 4-5 (-5)
Washington State 4-5 (-14)
Youngstown State 3-6 (-29)

Week 10 Schedule

Louisiana Tech @ Richmond
Youngstown State @ St. Francis Brooklyn
Tennessee Tech @ Washington State

This group is a complete mess, as only 2 teams have a chance to advance. Richmond and Tennessee Tech are moving on. If one wins and the other loses, the team that wins will win the group. If they both win or both lose, it'll go to points differential since they split with each other. LA Tech, Brooklyn, Washington St., and Youngstown St. have no chance to advance, which means that Vermont will be the 128th seed in the round of 128!

[collegesportsfanms]

Group 56

Week 10

Richmond- 64, Louisiana Tech- 56
Youngstown State- 81, St. Francis Brooklyn- 67
Tennessee Tech- 73, Washington State- 62

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Final Group 56 Standings

#1- Tennessee Tech 7-3 (+40)
#2- Richmond 7-3 (+17)
#3- Louisiana Tech 4-6 (+2)
#4- Youngstown State 4-6 (-15)
#5- St. Francis Brooklyn 4-6 (-19)
#6- Washington State 4-6 (-25)

What a pitiful group with only 2 teams having a winning record. Tennessee Tech is definitely the surprise team, seeded 5th in their group, but the win the group title thanks to a point differential tiebreaker, and they are thrilled to be hosting a round of 128 game. They'll be the 51st seed. Richmond takes 2nd place and they'll be the 87th seed. I'm not even going to talk about 3rd place because it doesn't matter. None of the other 4 teams had a chance, so as we said earlier, Vermont gets the last wildcard spot and seed #128.

So, group play is now done, and now it's time to set the bracket. I am going to do my best to make sure that teams from the same conference or same group don't play each other in the round of 128, but I will not adjust the seedings unless it is for tiebreaker purposes. If 2 teams from the same group are seeded so that they have to play each other in the round of 128 and there's no tiebreaker involved, then so be it.

Speaking of tiebreakers, there are 8 of them that will need to be solved. Remember, the first step in those 8 tiebreakers, if needed, is to arrange it so that we don't have a same conference/same group round of 128 game. I can do it with the 8 tiebreakers only, but none of the others. Following that, I'll have to go back and look at what I said the tiebreakers were, because I don't remember right off hand.

[collegesportsfanms]

I will be out of town for the next 4-5 days and not have access to a computer. I am going to have my phone with me and I will try my best to get the bracket seeded while I'm gone, which means breaking tiebreakers, and placing teams where they need to be.

I'm also going to try and see how I did on my predictions, and I'm going to see how many teams from each conference made the round of 128. I don't expect to get that all done over the weekend, but if I can at least get the bracket set, that'll be a start.

Next week I plan on getting the round of 128 started.

[collegesportsfanms]

The bracket is set! All 128 teams have been seeded and placed in their spots. There were 8 tiebreakers that I had to sort out. 1 involved Georgetown and Georgia, and it was the easiest to figure out. Georgetown's round of 128 opponent would either have to be E. Tennessee St. or Winthrop. Since Georgetown and Winthrop were in the same group, that meant Georgetown had to face E. Tennessee State.

Of the other 7 tiebreakers, 4 were decided by the 3rd tiebreaker, (2nd if you consider head to head didn't apply for any of them), which was winning % of teams beaten. The other 3 tiebreakers had to be determined by overall points scored in group play. No tiebreaker went to a coin flip, although a mere 17 points was all that separated a few of the teams.

I will announce the round of 128 pairings today, and I will try to get to conference breakdown today, but it may not happen until tomorrow. At the rate I'm going, with getting back in town and getting caught up at work, there's a chance I won't start simming the round of 128 games until next week.

However, stayed tuned for the bracket, as there are some really, really exciting round of 128 match-ups.

[collegesportsfanms]

The way it's looking, I won't be able to release the bracket until tomorrow, as I'm taking care of some stuff at work and I won't have time to do all that and type the bracket out today, so look for it sometime tomorrow. Sorry guys, I'll get er done as soon as I can.

[collegesportsfanms]

2014-2015 What-if Sports NCAA basketball round of 128 match-ups

With this, I am including the conference for each team, plus I will include group record and point differential for each team. Also, the 25 ranked teams coming into this tournament will be bolded. I think there is only 1 that didn't make the round of 128.

#128 Vermont (America East, 6-4, +31) @ #1 Kentucky (SEC, 10-0, +214)
#65 New Mexico State (WAC, 8-2, +43) @ #64 DePaul (Big East, 8-2, +46)
#97 James Madison (Colonial, 6-4, +29) @ #32 UT Martin (Ohio Valley, 8-2, +78)
#96 George Washington (Atlantic 10, 6-4, +34) @ #33 Washington (Pac 12, 8-2, +77)
#113 Wisconsin (Big 10, 7-3, +71) @ #16 Texas (Big 12, 9-1, +120)
#80 Lafayette (Patriot, 7-3, +41) @ #49 Green Bay (Horizon, 7-3, +57)
#112 Boston College (ACC, 5-5, +11) @ #17 Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley, 9-1, +119)
#81 New Hampshire (America East, 7-3, +37) @ #48 Hawaii (Big West, 7-3, +60)
#121 Long Beach State (Big West, 6-4, +53) @ #8 UC Santa Barbara (Big West, 10-0, +94)
#72 Iona (MAAC, 7-3, +63) @ #57 Louisville (ACC, 9-1, +83)
#104 Utah State (Mountain West, 6-4, +11) @ #25 Charlotte (Conference USA, 8-2, +115)
#89 NC Central (MEAC, 7-3, +9) @ #40 Stephen F. Austin (Southland, 8-2, +57)
#120 North Carolina State (ACC, 6-4, +63) @ #9 Iowa (Big 10, 9-1, +181)
#73 Oklahoma State (Big 12, 7-3, +63) @ #56 St. Johns (Big East, 6-4, +37)
#105 UConn (American, 6-4, +8) @ #24 Duke (ACC, 8-2, +123)
#88 Seton Hall (Big East, 7-3, +13) @ #41 San Francisco (WCC, 8-2, +56)
#125 St. Mary's (WCC, 6-4, +40) @ #4 Notre Dame (ACC, 10-0, +173)
#68 UC Irvine (Big West, 7-3, +83) @ #61 Tennessee (SEC, 8-2, +65)
#100 Rice (Conference USA, 6-4, +18) @ #29 Texas A&M (SEC, 8-2, +84)
#93 Illinois (Big 10, 6-4, +51) @ #36 Dayton (Atlantic 10, 8-2, +65)
#116 California (Pac 12, 7-3, +45) @ #13 Kansas (Big 12, 9-1, +130)
#77 Missouri State (Missouri Valley, 7-3, +52) @ #52 Charleston Southern (Big South, 7-3, +39)
#109 Florida State (ACC, 6-4, +1) @ #20 William & Mary (Colonial, 9-1, +88)
#84 Northeastern (Colonial, 7-3, +23) @ #45 Arizona (Pac 12, 7-3, +110)
#124 Robert Morris (Northeast, 6-4, +41) @ #5 Utah (Pac 12, 10-0, +150)
#69 Providence (Big East, 7-3, +78) @ #60 Rhode Island (Atlantic 10, 8-2, +80)
#101 Tulsa (American, 6-4, +13) @ #28 Sacramento State (Big Sky, 8-2, +87)
#92 West Virginia (Big 12, 6-4, +83) @ #37 Colorado (Pac 12, 8-2, +77)
#117 North Florida (Atlantic Sun, 7-3, +30) @ #12 Iowa State (Big 12, 9-1, +131)
#76 Maryland (ACC, 7-3, +54) @ #53 UMass (Atlantic 10, 7-3, +36)
#108 Wyoming (Mountain West, 6-4, +3) @ #21 Xavier (Big East, 9-1, +70)
#85 Boise State (Mountain West, 7-3, +22) @ #44 Detroit (Horizon, 8-2, +29)
#127 UNC Asheville (Big South, 6-4, +32) @ #2 Gonzaga (WCC, 10-0, +203)
#66 VCU (Atlantic 10, 7-3, +97) @ #63 Chattanooga (Southern, 8-2, +50)
#98 Valparaiso (Horizon, 6-4, +26) @ Alabama (SEC, 8-2, +80)
#95 Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley, 6-4, +34) @ #34 SMU (American, 8-2, +75)
#114 East Tennessee State (Southern, 7-3, +56) @ #15 Georgetown (Big East, 9-1, +124)
#79 Virginia Tech (ACC, 7-3, +42) @ #50 Cincinnati (American, 7-3, +42)
#111 Vanderbilt (SEC, 5-5, +19) @ #18 Virginia (ACC, 9-1, +109)
#82 Western Kentucky (Conference USA, 7-3, +33) @ #47 Eastern Michigan (MAC, 7-3, +62)
#122 High Point (Big South, 6-4, +50) @ #7 Murray State (Ohio Valley, 10-0, +118)
#71 Marquette (Big East, 7-3, +65) @ #58 TCU (Big 12, 8-2, +99)
#103 Western Carolina (Southern, 6-4, +12) @ #26 Ohio State (Big 10, 8-2, +103)
#90 Portland (WCC, 6-4, +109) @ #39 UC Davis (Big West, 8-2, +57)
#119 Incarnate Word (Southland, 6-4, +74) @ #10 North Carolina (ACC, 9-1, +162)
#74 Purdue (Big 10, 7-3, +58) @ #55 Ole Miss (SEC, 6-4, +46)
#106 Wake Forest (ACC, 6-4, +6) @ #23 Sam Houston (Southland, 8-2, +129)
#87 Richmond (Atlantic 10, 7-3, +17), #42 South Dakota State (Summit, 8-2, +51)
#126 Air Force (Mountain West, 6-4, +37) @ #3 Villanova (Big East, 10-0, +176)
#67 Miami (FL) (ACC, 7-3, +85) @ #62 Florida (SEC, 8-2, +56)
#99 Hofstra (Colonial, 6-4, +26) @ #20 BYU (WCC, 8-2, +83)
#94 George Mason (Atlantic 10, 6-4, +42) @ #35 South Carolina (SEC, 8-2, +74)
#115 Winthrop (Big South, 7-3, +46) @ #14 Georgia (SEC, 9-1, +124)
#78 Eastern Washington (Big Sky, 7-3, +45) @ #51 Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley, 7-3, +40)
#110 UCF (American, 6-4, -6) @ #19 Davidson (Atlantic 10, 9-1, +96)
#83 Cleveland State (Horizon, 7-3, +24) @ #46 Nebraska (Big 10, 7-3, +73)
#123 Missouri (SEC, 6-4, +50) @ #6 Indiana (Big 10, 10-0, +135)
#70 San Diego State (Mountain West, 7-3, +71) @ 59 Oklahoma (Big 12, 8-2, +80)
#102 Mississippi State (SEC, 6-4, +13) @ #27 Wichita State (Missouri Valley, 8-2, +91)
#91 Michigan State (Big 10, 6-4, +105) @ #38 LSU (SEC, 8-2, +60)
#118 UMKC (WAC, 7-3, +27) @ #11 Morehead State (Ohio Valley, 9-1, +147)
#75 St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10, 7-3, +55) @ #54 Kent State (MAC, 7-3, +28)
#107 Stanford (Pac 12, 6-4, +4) @ #22 Baylor (Big 12, 8-2, +141)
#86 Old Dominion (Conference USA, 7-3, +18) @ #43 Northwestern State (Southland, 8-2, +47)

[Simbo Klice]

I applaud you seeing this 8-month project all the way up to this point. It's tournament time!

[collegesportsfanms]

Round of 128 Conference Breakdown

ACC- 12
SEC- 12
Atlantic Ten- 9
Big 12- 8
Big East- 8
Big Ten- 8
Pac 12- 6
American- 5
Big West- 5
Mountain West- 5
Ohio Valley- 5
WCC- 5
Big South- 4
Colonial- 4
Conference USA- 4
Horizon- 4
Southland- 4
Missouri Valley- 3
Southern- 3
America East- 2
Big Sky- 2
MAC- 2
WAC- 2
Atlantic Sun- 1
MAAC- 1
MEAC- 1
Northeast- 1
Patriot- 1
Summit- 1

29 conferences represented in the Round of 128. That's amazing! I will do a conference breakdown all the way to the national championship game, and I will also do a conference competition, to see which conference fares best in the bracket part of this tournament. It'll just be a neat little thing for me to do, but it'll take some time, so don't be surprised if the bracket part of this tournament takes at least the next 2-3 months. It'll be slow moving, but it'll get done.

[collegesportsfanms]

It's time to start the round of 128. For this round only, I will be doing individual reports on each game. The reason for this is that since the higher seed hosts, we have 64 different sites in the round of 128. Can't exactly do a pod system that way.

Beginning with the round of 64, games will be neutral site games, and I will go to the pod system, much like I did in the last WIS NCAA Tournament I did, which has been a while. I am going to use the actual NCAA Tournament hosts from the 2015 tournament, and I am not going to change the seedings. I contemplated changing the seedings so that the highest ranked team left in each reason would be the #1 seed, the 2nd highest ranked team #2, and so on, all the way to seed #16. That way the bracket would look like an actual NCAA Tournament bracket. The problem with that is it could completely change the match-ups. On the other hand, it would create a new element of randomness to this dynasty, as it would be something I've never done before. I'd like opinions on this, because I'm strongly considering going that route, to re-seed the teams after the round of 128.

And, if I do re-seed them, should I seed them like the NCAA would, with the smaller conferences getting the lower seeds no matter what? Or should I seed them straight by highest rank is #1, lowest rank is #16, even if it pits 2 power conference schools against each other in a 1/16 match-up. What do you guys think? I'm open to any thoughts, as it will be a long while before the round of 128 is complete. I'll take any and all opinions.

[collegesportsfanms]

#128 Vermont (America East, 6-4, +31) @ #1 Kentucky (SEC, 10-0, +214)

Pre-Game

Kentucky did what Kentucky does in group play, completely dominate the competition. Only 1 of their games was not a double digit win, and that one was a 7 point win over Virginia Tech. Vermont got the final wildcard spot, but could have bettered their seed had they won even 1 game against the top 2 teams in their group. It's definitely going to be an uphill battle for Vermont in this one.

Game

Kentucky- 64, Vermont- 52

This one was closer than most people would have expected, as Kentucky didn't start to pull away until late in the 1st half. They did stretch the lead out to 20 in the second half and cruised from there. Using the platoon system, their scoring was pretty balanced, but they move on.

[collegesportsfanms]

#65 New Mexico State (WAC, 8-2, +43) @ #64 DePaul (Big East, 8-2, +46)

Pre-Game

New Mexico State got a big win against North Carolina in their group, but also had a bad loss to Coastal Carolina. Their second loss was a revenge loss to North Carolina. DePaul's only 2 losses came at the hands of group champion Alabama. 1 was a blowout loss, the other was much closer. A blowout win over Elon helped their point differential considerably, and I expect this game to be quite even and down to the wire.

Game

DePaul- 61, New Mexico State- 59

New Mexico State led by 9 early, but went on a cold streak in which they didn't score for almost 5 minutes. DePaul took control, led by as many as 10 in the second half, and hung on to advance.

[collegesportsfanms]

#97 James Madison (Colonial, 6-4, +29) @ #32 UT Martin (Ohio Valley, 8-2, +78)

Pre-Game

UT Martin lost 2 of their first 3 games, then ran through the rest of group play, getting a couple 20+ point wins and an 18 point win. James Madison had a very tough group, losing to Davidson twice but winning a tiebreaker with UTEP to get 2nd place in the group. A 16 point win over UTEP and 2 big wins over Loyola Marymount and Princeton gave them enough points to get the point differential tiebreaker and be able to host this round of 128 game.

Game

UT Martin- 67, James Madison- 59

UT Martin survived a 62.5% FT shooting game to get a win. Of course James Madison has to be upset because UT Martin made more free throws than JMU attempted. That was the difference in the game, as neither team led by more than 7 the entire way.

[collegesportsfanms]

#96 George Washington (Atlantic 10, 6-4, +34) @ #33 Washington (Pac 12, 8-2, +77)

Pre-Game

Washington really helped themselves in group play by defeating Maryland twice. The Terps were ranked 13th of the top 25 teams coming into group play, and those 2 wins really helped Washington. They also took advantage of having Morgan State in their group, beating them by 30 and 18 in their 2 games. GW won a tiebreaker over Columbia in their group, allowing themselves a chance to host this round of 128 game. Beating Columbia twice sealed the deal there, but they couldn't overcome group winner Xavier, who rattled their cage twice.

Game

Washington- 74, George Washington- 55

This score surprises me a bit, because GW was actually a much better team in the actual 2014-2015 season. Just goes to show how much home court advantage can play sometimes. The Huskies won this game with their shooting, as they were 51.1% from the field, and a whopping 55% from three point land!

[collegesportsfanms]

#113 Wisconsin (Big 10, 7-3, +71) @ #16 Texas (Big 12, 9-1, +120)

Pre-Game

Texas ran through their group with no problem, their only loss coming to Nevada. They had 3 wins by 20 or more points, and only 3 points separated them and a perfect group run. Wisconsin, who in reality lost in the national championship game, was upset twice by Colorado and once by Chattanooga, the 2 other teams advancing out of that group. Still though, this is a really, really tough draw for Texas, and it's a shame it set up this way. Will Wisconsin show their dominance as they did in reality? Or will home court advantage help the Longhorns out. Either way, one of these teams will be eliminated far too early.

Game

Texas- 77, Wisconsin- 62

I would have never expected this score in a million years. Texas stays hot, Wisconsin fades down the stretch. Really, this is what was expected of the Longhorns in reality all season. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't they a preseason top 10 team? Anyways, they outrebounded the Badgers by an incredible 38-17 margin, and that was more than enough to advance.

[collegesportsfanms]

#80 Lafayette (Patriot, 7-3, +41) @ #49 Green Bay (Horizon, 7-3, +57)

Pre-Game

Green Bay was a surprising group winner, sweeping through New Mexico and Stanford which contributed to 4 very crucial wins. If not for being swept by Northern Arizona, they could have been looking at a top 20 seed. Lafayette beat out Clemson and Missouri to finish 2nd in their group. They won 3 of 4 against those teams, and also pulled another huge upset against Iowa State. All that meant they advanced to the round of 128, where anything can happen.

Game

Green Bay- 75, Lafayette- 67

Taking care of the ball was the difference in this one, as Green Bay committed just 2 first half turnovers in route to a 9 point halftime lead. Even Lafayette did well, as they only had 12 turnovers. However, the big different came in FG%: 47.4% for Green Bay, 37.9% for Lafayette. This does eliminate the Patriot Conference from this tournament, as Lafayette was their only representative in the round of 128.

[collegesportsfanms]

#112 Boston College (ACC, 5-5, +11) @ #17 Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley, 9-1, +119)

Pre-Game

Northern Iowa had no trouble in their group, with their only loss coming to Northwestern. All but 2 of their 9 wins was by double digits. The 2 that were single digits wins? 7 and 9. Boston College is 1 of 2 teams that finished 5-5 in their group but somehow took 2nd place. Then again, they were also in a group where the group winner was only 6-4. They had to survive a 4 team tiebreaker to get 2nd place, a position they shouldn't have even been in since they lost 2 of their last 3 games. That last game win against Wagner is why they are here.

Game

Northern Iowa- 73, Boston College- 53

No real surprise here, as the Eagles were lucky to even be in the round of 128 anyways. The Panthers were just lights out from the field, shooting 59.1% overall, and a crazy 66.6% from behind the arc! With shooting like that, it's going to be hard to beat them.

[collegesportsfanms]

#81 New Hampshire (America East, 7-3, +37) @ #48 Hawaii (Big West, 7-3, +60)

Hawaii won their group thanks to a points differential tiebreaker. They wouldn't have needed that tiebreaker except for the fact that they lost to UNC Greensboro in their final group play game. However, they did beat group favorite N.C. State twice, and beat 2nd place finisher Eastern Washington once. New Hampshire suffered some tough luck, beating group winner Dayton twice, but losing to Wright State in the final group play game to miss out on winning the group and a chance to host a round of 128 game. They actually lost 3 of their last 4 games after starting group play 6-0. Let's see if they can break the slide here.

Game

Hawaii- 74, New Hampshire- 53

Hawaii forced 16 New Hampshire turnovers and rolled to an easy victory, leading by as many as 22 at one point. They doubled up New Hampshire on free throws and three pointers, and that combined with the turnovers spelled doom for New Hampshire. It also spells doom for the America East, who has seen both of their round of 128 representatives lose in the round of 128.

[bbgunn]

Yeah, Rainbow Warriors!!!!

[collegesportsfanms]

Sorry for the delay on this project, I will be getting back to it later this week. We've had an extended shutdown at work and I left my paperwork there, but we are reopening in a couple days, so I'll get some more games in this week.

[collegesportsfanms]

#121 Long Beach State (Big West, 6-4, +53) @ #8 UC Santa Barbara (Big West, 10-0, +94)

Pre-Game

UCSB took advantage of a weak group, blowing through the competition, including Oregon which was deemed to be their toughest opponent in the group. Long Beach State backed into this round of 128 game, finishing 3rd in their group even though they lost their last game of group play by 20 to Duke and 4th place Western Michigan won, Long Beach won the tiebreaker thanks to point differential. This is, I believe, our only round of 128 match-up that involves 2 teams from the same conference.

Game

UC Santa Barbara- 67, Long Beach State- 58

This one was decided in the 1st half, as UCSB raced out to a 14 point lead, thanks to 43.1% shooting from the field, and a perfect 18-18 from the FT line. Alan Williams had 20 points, 14 rebounds for UCSB, while Mike Caffey led all scorers with 21 in a losing effort.

[collegesportsfanms]

#72 Iona (MAAC, 7-3, +63) @ #57 Louisville (ACC, 9-1, +83)

Pre-Game

Louisville's only loss came to group winner William & Mary, but that loss kept them from an undefeated run in group play and a much, much higher seed. Iona swept North Florida to win a tiebreaker for 2nd place in their group, and only a loss to group winner San Francisco along with 2 losses to a very good Yale team kept them from winning their group.

Game

Louisville- 73, Iona- 54

The Cardinals raced to a 27 point halftime lead and never looked back, shooting 46.8% for the game. They had 3 scorers in double figures, led by Montrezl Harrell with 18. Iona was led by Schadrac Casimir (what a name!!) who had 17. Iona was the MAAC's only representative in the round of 128, so the MAAC is gone.

[collegesportsfanms]

#104 Utah State (Mountain West, 6-4, +11) @ #25 Charlotte (Conference USA, 8-2, +115)

Pre-Game

Charlotte won their group, beating group favorite Oklahoma twice with ease. Once by 16 and once by 9. Their only 2 losses were a 2 point loss to Albany and a 5 point loss to Drexel. Utah State finished 2nd place in an otherwise pretty weak group. They actually beat group winner Stephen F. Austin once, and had a nice win over Memphis. Unfortunately, their last game really set them back a few seeds when they lost by 17 to Longwood. Yuck!

Game

Utah State- 67, Charlotte- 64

Utah State becomes the first lower seed to win in the round of 128, and they had to come from behind to do it as they trailed by 8 with 10 minutes to go. A 51.1% shooting percentage got them the win, as they were led by Chris Smith who had 18 points, while Braxton Ogbueze had 18 for Charlotte in the losing effort.

[collegesportsfanms]

#89 NC Central (MEAC, 7-3, +9) @ #40 Stephen F. Austin (Southland, 8-2, +57)

Pre-Game

SFA won the group that Utah State was in. As we already mentioned, they split with Utah St., and their second loss was to MD Eastern Shore by 5 points. Their biggest win was their group opener, a 22 point win over Longwood (by biggest I mean largest margin of victory, not necessarily the most important win). NC Central could not find a way to beat their group winner SMU, losing to them twice by 8 and by 11. They also lost to Air Force by 11. They certainly didn't help their point differential by winning big. Other than an 11 point win and an 8 point win, their other 5 wins were by either 2, 3, or 4 points.

Game

Stephen F. Austin- 61, NC Central- 60

The best game of the tournament so far, as NC Central had 2 chances to win in the last 15 seconds, but missed 2 shots in that timespan. Neither team led by more than 8 the entire game. Jordan Parks led all scorers with 15 in a losing effort, while SFA was led by Thomas Walkup who had 14. With NC Central's loss, the MEAC is now gone from the tournament, as NC Central was their only representative in the round of 128.

[collegesportsfanms]

#120 North Carolina State (ACC, 6-4, +63) @ #9 Iowa (Big 10, 9-1, +181)

Pre-Game

Iowa won their group with ease, 3 games better than the 2nd place team. Only a 3 point loss to Central Michigan in their final game of group play kept them from an undefeated run. They absolutely hammered the majority of their opponents though, with 5 20+ point wins and a 19 point win in group play. N.C. State needed to win their last game in group play to have a chance to make the round of 128, and they did, beating 2nd place finisher Eastern Washington by 14. In fact, they swept Eastern Washington, but lost twice to group winner Hawaii, as well as losing to Loyola (MD) and Mt. St. Mary's.

Game

Iowa- 76, N.C. State- 67

Iowa led by 13 at halftime and actually extended it to 16 early in the 2nd half. N.C. State got it down to within 3 at one point, but the Hawkeyes finished strong thanks to 46.6% field goal shooting. Aaron White had 23 and Jarrod Uthoff had 20 for Iowa, while N.C. State was led by Anthony Barber who had 14.

[collegesportsfanms]

#73 Oklahoma State (Big 12, 7-3, +63) @ #56 St. Johns (Big East, 6-4, +37)

Pre-Game

St. Johns completely backed into winning their group title, as they actually lost to 2nd place Wyoming on the last game of group play, but because they beat Wyoming the first time, still won the group based on point differential. They are only 1 of 2 teams that won their group with a 6-4 record. Oklahoma State had to overcome a 3 way tiebreaker for their group title, in which they finished in 2nd place thanks to losing to Charleston Southern twice and winning a tiebreaker over 3rd place UMKC.

Game

St. John's- 60, Oklahoma State- 41

30.4% shooting doomed the Cowboys, who trailed by as many as 23 in the 2nd half. They were led in scoring by Le'Bryan Nash who had 12, and Rysheed Jordan led St. John's with 17.

[collegesportsfanms]

#105 UConn (American, 6-4, +8) @ #24 Duke (ACC, 8-2, +123)

Pre-Game

These 2 teams have met in the NCAA Title game at least once or twice that I can think of, so they know each other well. Duke lost by 1 to George Mason and by 3 to Western Michigan, their only 2 losses in group play. They had 4 wins by 20+ points or more. UConn finished 2nd in their group, 3 games behind group winner Georgia, and just 1 game ahead of 2 other teams. They lost 2 of their last 3 games in group play, and only a 5 point win in overtime against Dartmouth has them in the round of 128. Going to state the obvious here, but had they lost that game, it would have been 3 losses in a row and a 5-5 finish, so they are happy to still be playing.

Game

Duke- 72, UConn- 60

The Blue Devils traded leads with UConn for about the first 8 minutes of the half, then took over. They outrebounded the Huskies 39-27 and were led in scoring by Justise Winslow, who had 20. Ryan Boatright led UConn with 17.

[collegesportsfanms]

#88 Seton Hall (Big East, 7-3, +13) @ #41 San Francisco (WCC, 8-2, +56)

Pre-Game

San Francisco won 7 games in a row in group play after losing 2 of their last 3. Their only losses were, incidentally, to North Florida and Iona, who both also advanced to the round of 128. Seton Hall had a tough group, falling 3 games behind group winner and undefeated Utah. They lost to the Utes by 10 and 19, and also had a 12 point loss to Santa Clara. They only had 2 wins by double digits.

Game

San Francisco- 78, Seton Hall- 56

Total domination for the Dons, as they made 8 three pointers and forced 14 Seton Hall turnovers, leading by as many as 25 in the game. Tim Derksen led the Dons with 23 points, while Seton Hall was led by Khadeen Carrington who had 12.

[collegesportsfanms]

So that completes the first region of the round of 128. We have our first 16 teams in the round of 64. You may be wondering how I've decided to seed the teams for the round of 64 and on? Well I'll tell you.

The 16 surviving teams in each region of the round of 128 will be seeding based on their RPI ranking as of April 7, 2015 (basically the end of the 2014-2015 season.) The rankings come from teamrankings.com. So our 16 teams surviving from the first region are: Kentucky, DePaul, UT Martin, Washington, Texas, Green Bay, Northern Iowa, Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, Louisville, Utah State, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa, St. John's, Duke, and San Francisco. This region will be the Midwest Region, as it was the upper left quadrant, and the 2015 NCAA Tournament had the Midwest in the upper left. If anybody cares about that bit of knowledge. lol. So here are the First Round pods and match-ups for the Midwest Region:

Louisville, KY pod

(16) DePaul vs. (1) Duke
(9) Green Bay vs. (8) Texas

Columbus, OH pod

(12) UT Martin vs. (5) Stephen F. Austin
(13) Utah State vs. (4) Louisville

Pittsburgh, PA pod

(11) Washington vs. (6) Iowa
(14) Hawaii vs. (3) Northern Iowa

Omaha, NE pod

(10) UC Santa Barbara vs. (7) St. John's
(15) San Francisco vs. (2) Kentucky

I will start working on the round of 128 games for the West Region (bottom left quadrant) tomorrow

[collegesportsfanms]

I have decided to work on the upper right quadrant of the bracket next, which is the East Region. I'll get 8 of the round of 128 games done in that region today, and the other 8 done tomorrow, to knock that region down to 16 teams. So let's get started.

[collegesportsfanms]

#125 St. Mary's (WCC, 6-4, +40) @ #4 Notre Dame (ACC, 10-0, +173)

Pre-Game

St. Mary's snuck in as a wildcard, finishing 3rd in their group. All 4 of their losses in group play were to the top 2 finishers in the group, so nothing to be ashamed of there, as they took care of business against the 4th, 5th, and 6th place teams. Notre Dame won their group easily, and were one of just 2 teams in the group with a winning record. All of their wins were double digit wins except for one, and that one was a 9 point win over Minnesota.

Game

St. Mary's- 74, Notre Dame- 70

A huge shocker here, as the Fighting Irish trailed by 9 at halftime, and looked out of sync for most of the game. St. Mary's led the entire game, by as many as 14, but Notre Dame did get it down to 2 late. This was really a tough draw for the Irish, as in reality, St. Mary's was a 21 win team in the 2014-2015 season. Nonetheless, for seeding purposes, we have our first major upset. Kerry Carter led St. Mary's with 22, while Pat Connaughton and Steve Vasturia each had 14 for Notre Dame.

[collegesportsfanms]

#68 UC Irvine (Big West, 7-3, +83) @ #61 Tennessee (SEC, 8-2, +65)

Pre-Game

UC Irvine tied for 2nd in their group, but won the tiebreaker over Winthrop by point differential, as the 2 teams split. Irvine also split with group winner Georgetown, with the loss in that series coming by 2 points. Their 3rd loss was to Jackson State, and it was by far the most damaging loss. Tennessee tied Wichita State for their group title, but lost the tiebreaker by point differential as they split their 2 games with the Shockers. Their other loss was to 3rd place finisher UAB.

Game

UC Irvine- 65, Tennessee- 62

This one was close all the way, tied at halftime, and Irvine actually did get the lead to double digits once in the 2nd half, holding on to win. 47.7% shooting helped Irvine in this one, as they were led by Will Davis II who had 17 points. Tennessee was led by Josh Richardson who had 13 points.

[collegesportsfanms]

#100 Rice (Conference USA, 6-4, +18) @ #29 Texas A&M (SEC, 8-2, +84)

Pre-Game

Anybody remember the Southwestern Conference, or the SWC? Well both of these teams were in that conference (I believe), before the conference folded. Rice struggled in group play, finishing 2nd by 3 games to group winner Northern Iowa. The last group play game came down to Rice and Mercer, which Rice won by 7 to get 2nd place. Texas A&M won their group by 2 games, with their 2 losses coming against San Diego and Florida Atlantic, who finished 3rd and 5th in the group, respectively. They did beat 2nd place Tulsa twice, which was a big reason why they won their group.

Game

Rice- 59, Texas A&M- 53

Apparently, this is going to be the group of upsets, as so far we have 3 games, and all 3 lower seeds and road teams have won. Crazy. The big difference in this one was Rice holding Texas A&M to just 35% shooting, and the margin of victory could have been more had Rice not turned it over 17 times. Marcus Jackson led Rice with 18 points, while Texas A&M was led by Jalen Jones who had 13.

[collegesportsfanms]

#93 Illinois (Big 10, 6-4, +51) @ #36 Dayton (Atlantic 10, 8-2, +65)

Pre-Game

Illinois finished 2nd in their group, tying for 2nd with South Florida and splitting their 2 games, but easily won the point differential tiebreaker. They did play group winner Texas tough in both games, losing by 3 each time, with the first one going to overtime. Their other loss was to Oakland, also by 3 points, meaning their 4 losses were by a combined total of 11 points. That shows how close they were to winning 8, 9 games in group play, maybe even going undefeated. Dayton won their group by 1 game over New Hampshire, but the irony in this is that they LOST both of their games to New Hampshire. Fortunately for them, they won the rest of their group play games, while New Hampshire ended up with 3 losses in their other 8 games. This game could be a war.

Game

Dayton- 70, Illinois- 69

The streak is broken, but barely. A Kyle Davis three pointer at the buzzer gives Dayton the 1 point victory and breaks the streak of lower seeds winning. This game was everything I thought it would be, with several lead changes and ties. Dyshawn Pierre led Dayton with 19 points, while Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 18 points, in an instant classic.

[collegesportsfanms]

#116 California (Pac 12, 7-3, +45) @ #13 Kansas (Big 12, 9-1, +130)

Pre-Game

California took 3rd place in their group, losing out on the point differential to just 7 points to 2nd place finisher Missouri State. The Golden Bears started group play 5-0 then lost 3 of their last 5. Kansas rolled through their group, with their only loss coming at the hands of 2nd place finisher Western Kentucky. Surprisingly, Portland State, who finished last in the group, proved to be KU's toughest opponent, as they only lost to KU by 3 and by 7. They made up for it though by routing pretty much everybody else.

Game

Kansas- 66, California- 57

No upset here, as the Jayhawks used a 40-35 rebounding edge and a late game run to put away Cal. Frank Mason led the Jayhawks with 13, while Tyrone Wallace for Cal led all scorers with 18.

[collegesportsfanms]

#77 Missouri State (Missouri Valley, 7-3, +52) @ #52 Charleston Southern (Big South, 7-3, +39)

Pre-Game

As mentioned before, Missouri State took 2nd in their group, winning the point differential over 3rd place Cal by 7 points. Aside from losing to Cal, they also lost once to group winner Detroit and 5th place finisher Pepperdine. Charleston Southern also had to survive tiebreakers, this one being a 3 way tie for the group title. The tiebreaker went their way though, as they dominated group favorite Oklahoma State twice.

Game

Missouri State- 72, Charleston Southern- 70 (OT)

The Bears led by 9 midway through the 2nd half, but gave the lead up and had to rely on a Marcus Marshall bucket with 13 seconds left just to get to OT. Then they fell behind by 4 points in the extra frame, but scored 10 of the last 14 points to get a nice win. Austin Ruder led the Bears with 18 points, while Arlen Harper led Charleston Southern with 15.

[collegesportsfanms]

#109 Florida State (ACC, 6-4, +1) @ #20 William & Mary (Colonial, 9-1, +88)

Pre-Game

Florida State finished 2nd in their group, 1 game behind group winner Arizona. They beat Arizona by 3 in the first game, but lost by 16 in the second game. Their point differential suffered thanks to a couple blowout losses, and way too many single digit wins. They only had 1 double digit win. William & Mary won their group by winning a points differential tiebreaker over Louisville, as both teams finished 9-1 in group play. In fact, it was Louisville who beat W&M on the final group play game for both teams. W&M took advantage of a light group, as Louisville was really the strongest team going into the group, with everybody else well behind.

Game

William & Mary- 68, Florida State- 53

W&M took care of business in this one, leading by as many as 20 in the second half. They were able to force 16 Seminole turnovers, and were led in scoring by Marcus Thornton, who went off with 27 points. Florida State did manage to get one guy in double figures.... barely, as Phil Cofer finished with 10.

[collegesportsfanms]

#84 Northeastern (Colonial, 7-3, +23) @ #45 Arizona (Pac 12, 7-3, +110)

Pre-Game

Northeastern finished 2nd in their group, losing to group winner Sacramento State twice, as well as Austin Peay by 2 in overtime. Arizona won their group by defeating 2nd place finisher Florida State in each teams last group play game.

Game

Arizona- 69, Northeastern- 49

Arizona used a 39-27 rebounding edge to storm past Northeastern easily. They were led by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who had 13 points. Northeastern did not have a double figure scorer, as T.J. Williams and Scott Eatherton had 9 points each.

[collegesportsfanms]

And that's it for today folks. Tune in tomorrow for more exciting action.

[collegesportsfanms]

#124 Robert Morris (Northeast, 6-4, +41) @ #5 Utah (Pac 12, 10-0, +150)


Pre-Game

Robert Morris took 3rd place in their group, as they split with group winner LSU and got swept by 2nd place finisher Purdue. Their other loss was to Manhattan. Utah ran through their group with relative ease, with their closest result being an 8 point win against Santa Clara. 6 of their 10 wins were by double digits, the other 4 were by either 8 or 9 points.

Game

Utah- 60, Robert Morris- 58

The way this East Region has gone so far, it would only make sense that Utah would have their closest game yet. While the Utes only trailed once, that being at 27-26, they never could pull away. They did stretch it out to 13 at one point, but Robert Morris proved to be very scrappy. The Utes were led by Delon Wright who had 15, but leading all scorers was Robert Morris' Rodney Pryor who had 21 in the losing effort.

Unfortunately, we can now say goodbye to the Northeast Conference, as Robert Morris was their lone representative in the round of 128.

[collegesportsfanms]

#69 Providence (Big East, 7-3, +78) @ #60 Rhode Island (Atlantic 10, 8-2, +80)

Pre-Game

Providence actually tied for the group title, but lost the tiebreaker to fall into 2nd place, as group winner Kent St. beat them twice, including the 1 point loss to end group play, which is what lost the tiebreaker for them. Their other loss came against 4th place American. Rhode Island also fell victim to a tiebreaker situation, as they also tied for the group title. In their case, their only 2 losses came to group winner UT Martin, hence the reason they lost the tiebreaker.

Game

Rhode Island- 77, Providence- 72

The Rams win this battle of tiebreaker victims, as they trailed by 4 at halftime but shot over 60% in the second half, and 54.4% for the game. They were led by E.C. Matthews who had 24. He was slightly outdone by LaDontae Henton of Providence, who had 25 in a losing effort.

[collegesportsfanms]

So I just realized that in my copying and pasting, those teams that were in the top 25 to begin this tournament, weren't being bolded during the game recaps. I'm not going to change it, you can go back and look at the complete round of 128 schedule to see which top 25 teams advanced to the round of 128. Sorry about that!

[collegesportsfanms]

#101 Tulsa (American, 6-4, +13) @ #28 Sacramento State (Big Sky, 8-2, +87)

Pre-Game

Tulsa won the tiebreaker for 2nd place, as they split with San Diego, but won the point differential by 1 point. 1 lousy point is the only reason that Tulsa is playing in the round of 128. They were swept by Texas A&M and also lost a game to Florida Atlantic. Sacramento State is a definite surprise team, taking advantage of what I feel was a pretty even group overall. They lost there first game by 2 points to Boston University, and also had a 1 point loss to Austin Peay, so only 3 points separated them from an undefeated group run.

Game

Sacramento State- 59, Tulsa- 56

Another game that was pretty close all the way through. To tell you how even this game was, let me throw some stats at you: Both teams were 12-20 from the FT line. Sacramento State was 20-51 from the field, 7-14 from three point land. Tulsa was 19-50 from the field, 6-14 from three point land. Literally, that extra 3 pointer that Sacramento State made is what won it for them. They were led in scoring by Mikh McKinney, who had 21. James Woodard and Shaq Harrison each had 14 to lead Tulsa.

[collegesportsfanms]

#92 West Virginia (Big 12, 6-4, +83) @ #37 Colorado (Pac 12, 8-2, +77)

Pre-Game

West Virginia came into their group as heavy favorites but struggled mightily and ended up in 2nd place, 3 games behind group winner Morehead State. They lost both games to Morehead, as well as losing a game to North Dakota State and Middle Tennessee. An encouraging thing is that their last 3 wins were all by 20+ points. Colorado tied for their group title, but won the tiebreaker over Chattanooga by virtue of point differential. The Buffaloes lost to Chattanooga once, and also lost to North Texas. They got 2 big wins over group favorite Wisconsin, beating them by 2 in overtime and by 4.

Game

Colorado- 73, West Virginia- 66

A bit of a surprise here. If any road, lower seeded team was going to win in this round of 128 East Region, I would have expected West Virginia to win. Colorado, in reality, only had a 15-17 season. That's why you play the game, or at least sim the game. 18 turnovers and 36.8% shooting from the field did the Mountaineers in. Although it didn't help that they were 3-16 from three point land. They were led in scoring by Juwan Staten who had 14. Askia Booker from Colorado led all scorers with 21.

[collegesportsfanms]

#117 North Florida (Atlantic Sun, 7-3, +30) @ #12 Iowa State (Big 12, 9-1, +131)

Pre-Game

North Florida finished tied for 2nd in their group, but lost the tiebreaker to Iona, as they lost both games. The other loss for North Florida came at the hands of group champion San Francisco, so you can say that none of North Florida's 3 losses were terribly bad. Iowa State won their group by 2 games, only losing to Lafayette in their second to last group play game. What really helped the Cyclones is that 7 of their 9 wins were by double digits, including a 22 point win and a 12 point win over Clemson, who was figured to advance from the group, but did not.

Game

Iowa State- 79, North Florida- 58

The Cyclones broke open a 2 point halftime lead by going on a 19-7 run the last 10 minutes of the game. They outscored North Florida 38-19 in the second half. Good shooting helped, as they shot 51.4% from the field. Dustin Hogue was their leading scorer with 15 points, while Jalen Nesbitt led North Florida with 15.

This does eliminate the Atlantic Sun from the tournament, as North Florida was their only representative in the round of 128.

[collegesportsfanms]

#76 Maryland (ACC, 7-3, +54) @ #53 UMass (Atlantic 10, 7-3, +36)

Pre-Game

Maryland underachieved a little in group play, finishing 2nd in their group behind group winner Washington. The Terps couldn't figure out how to get past the Huskies, as Washington beat them by 9 and by 6. The Terps also lost to 3rd place finisher UNC Asheville, so at least they didn't have any really bad losses. UMass survived a 3 way tie for their group title, going 3-1 against the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in their group. They did end on a bit of a slide though, losing their last 2 games in group play, as East Tennessee State beat them by 9 and old rival Temple beat them by 15. Really, if I were making predictions, which I'm not, I'd bet on Maryland to win this game. But... the WIS sim does some crazy things.

Game

Maryland- 66, UMass- 57

The Terps do get the victory, but it didn't come easily. Both teams traded leads several times in the first half before Maryland stretched it to double digits late in the second half. The Terps were led by Melo Trimble who had 26, while UMass was led by Trey Davis who had 12.

[collegesportsfanms]

#108 Wyoming (Mountain West, 6-4, +3) @ #21 Xavier (Big East, 9-1, +70)

Pre-Game

Wyoming stumbled through their group, which didn't see a team win more than 6 games. They tied for the group title, as they split their games with group winner St. John's, but had a much lower point differential. Xavier won their group easily, by 3 games. Their lone loss came to 4th place finisher UNC Wilmington, and even in that game they went to overtime. Most of their games were fairly close though, as they only had 2 double digit wins.

Game

Xavier- 93, Wyoming- 85 (OT)

Defense wasn't a priority in this game, which saw the Musketeers down by 8 at halftime. They came storming back though, actually leading by as many as 8 late in the game, but a Wyoming three pointer with 3 seconds left forced overtime. Xavier dominated the extra frame though, outscoring the Cowboys 13-5 in the extra 5 minutes. Wyoming's Josh Adams led all scorers with 33 in a losing effort, while Xavier was led by Trevon Bluiett who had 19.

[collegesportsfanms]

#85 Boise State (Mountain West, 7-3, +22) @ #44 Detroit (Horizon, 8-2, +29)

Pre-Game

Boise State fell one game short in their group, taking 2nd place. They split with group winner UC Davis, each winning by 15. They also had a 13 point loss to Radford and a 16 point loss to Lipscomb that really hurt them seeding wise. Detroit was a surprising winner in their group, overtaking group favorite Arkansas, who didn't even make the round of 128. Also getting past Missouri State and Cal, the other 2 teams that did advance out of the group. Their last game of group play left a bitter taste in their mouth though, as they lost to Missouri State by 25.

Game

Boise State- 56, Detroit- 49

Boise State led by as many as 10 in the first half, taking advantage of 13 Detroit turnovers. Neither team put on a shooting display, as Boise shot 36.7% while Detroit shot 35.3%. Derrick Marks of Boise State led all scorers with 19, while Detroit was led by Paris Bass who had 16.

[collegesportsfanms]

To recap, our 16 surviving teams from the East Region are as follows:

St. Marys, UC Irvine, Rice, Dayton, Kansas, Missouri St., William & Mary, Arizona, Utah, Rhode Island, Sacramento State, Colorado, Iowa State, Maryland, Xavier, and Boise State.

Let's go to teamrankings.com and see how the 16 team bracket looks. And the seedings and First Round Pods and Matchups are as follows:

Pittsburgh, PA pod

(16) Rice vs. (1) Arizona
(9) Rhode Island vs. (8) Boise State

Seattle, WA pod

(12) William & Mary vs. (5) Utah
(13) Colorado vs. (4) Iowa State

Columbus, OH pod

(11) UC Irvine vs. (6) Xavier
(14) Sacramento State vs. (3) Maryland

Charlotte, NC pod

(10) St. Mary's vs. (7) Dayton
(15) Missouri State vs. (2) Kansas

Just to let you know how tough this group is and what a grind it's going to be, this region has 5 top 25 RPI teams, 8 top 50 RPI teams, and 12 top 100 RPI teams in it. To say this could be anybody's region is definitely an understatement.