What the 2020 NCAA tournament field should’ve looked liked. Let’s simulate the bracket

Duke is a No. 3 seed. N.C. state is a No. 8, Winthrop a No. 15 and N.C. Central a No. 16.

The 68-team field for the 2020 NCAA tournament — well, the one that could have been — is set.

Our half-hour selection show Sunday night unveiled the bracket live to the world, with Patrick Stevens of The Washington Post serving as the selection committee chair, and now we’re ready to simulate the games.

Kansas, Baylor, Gonzaga and Dayton are the No. 1 seeds in the tournament.

“We had Dayton as the fourth No. 1 seed,” Stevens said during the selection show. “And San Diego State as the strongest of the No. 2 seeds. Which explains why those two teams were placed in the bracket where they were.”

Duke will play Bradley in the first round in Greensboro. N.C. State, our simulated ACC tournament champion, is a No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 Providence in St. Louis. Winthrop is a No. 15 seed and will play No. 2 Florida State in Tampa. And 16th-seeded N.C. Central will play Prairie View A&M in the First Four in Dayton.

During the selection show, Stevens was asked about having the two HBCU teams — N.C. Central and Prairie View — face off during the first four.

“Your choice is to either have them play separate games and risk having none of them make it through to the round of 64 or have them play and guarantee one of them makes it,” he said.

“I don’t think either is a particularly great option. But I think the guarantee of having one is a better option than the risk of having none.”

The last four teams in the tournament were Texas, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and Richmond.

The first four teams out were Xavier, Arkansas, Wichita State and Stanford.

“Richmond was a team that went 3-4 in Quadrant 1 games, very impressive,” Stevens said when asked how Richmond got in over teams like Xavier and Arkansas. “(It) had a victory over a team that shared the Big Ten regular-season title on a neutral floor. Also a team that was 9-3 on the road this season. That really stood out to the committee.”

First Four

Dayton, Ohio

(11) Texas Tech vs. (11) Mississippi State

(12) Richmond vs. (12) Texas

(16) N.C. Central vs. (16) Prairie View A&M

(16) Robert Morris vs. (16) Siena

MIDWEST REGION (Kansas No. 1 overall seed)

Omaha, Neb.

(1) BIG 12/Kansas vs. (16) NORTHEAST/Robert Morris-METRO ATLANTIC/Siena

(8) Houston vs. (9) Rutgers

Tampa, Fla.

(5) Louisville vs. (12) Richmond/Texas

(4) SOUTHEASTERN/Kentucky vs. (13) AMERICA EAST/Vermont

St. Louis

(3) BIG EAST/Creighton vs. (14) CONFERENCE USA/North Texas

(6) Brigham Young vs. (11) AMERICAN ATHLETIC/Cincinnati

Cleveland, Ohio

(7) Arizona vs. (10) Indiana

(2) Michigan State vs. (15) BIG SKY/Eastern Washington

EAST REGION (Dayton No. 4 overall seed)

Cleveland, Ohio

(1) ATLANTIC 10/Dayton vs. (16) HORIZON/Northern Kentucky

(8) Florida vs. (9) Colorado

Sacramento, Calif.

(5) West Virginia vs. (12) IVY/Yale

(4) Butler vs. (13) WESTERN ATHLETIC/New Mexico State

Greensboro, N.C.

(3) Maryland vs. (14) SUMMIT/North Dakota State

(6) Virginia vs. (11) Mississippi State/Texas Tech

Sacramento, Calif.

(7) Saint Mary’s vs. (10) SOUTHERN/East Tennessee State

(2) San Diego State vs. (15) BIG WEST/UC Irvine

SOUTH REGION (Baylor No. 2 overall seed)

St. Louis

(1) Baylor vs. (16) MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC/N.C. Central-SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC/Prairie View A&M winner

(8) ATLANTIC COAST/N.C. State vs. (9) Providence

Omaha, Neb.

(5) Auburn vs. (12) SOUTHLAND/Stephen F. Austin

(4) BIG TEN/Wisconsin vs. (13) MID-AMERICAN/Akron

Albany, N.Y.

(3) Seton Hall vs. (14) COLONIAL/Hofstra

(6) Penn State vs. (11) MOUNTAIN WEST/Utah State

Tampa, Fla.

(7) Michigan vs. (10) Southern California

(2) Florida State vs. (15) BIG SOUTH/Winthrop

WEST REGION (Gonzaga No. 3 overall seed)

Spokane, Wash.

(1) WEST COAST/Gonzaga vs. (16) PATRIOT/Boston University

(8) Louisiana State vs. (9) Marquette

Spokane, Wash.

(5) Ohio State vs. (12) ATLANTIC SUN/Liberty

(4) PAC-12/Oregon vs. (13) OHIO VALLEY/Belmont

Greensboro, N.C.

(3) Duke vs. (14) MISSOURI VALLEY/Bradley

(6) Illinois vs. (11) Arizona State

Albany, N.Y.

(7) Iowa vs. (10) Oklahoma

(2) Villanova vs. (15) SUN BELT/Little Rock

Seed list

1. Kansas*

2. Baylor

3. Gonzaga*

4. Dayton*

5. San Diego State

6. Florida State

7. Michigan State

8. Villanova

9. Creighton*

10. Seton Hall

11. Maryland

12. Duke

13. Kentucky*

14. Oregon*

15. Wisconsin*

16. Butler

17. Louisville

18. Auburn

19. Ohio State

20. West Virginia

21. Penn State

22. Brigham Young

23. Virginia

24. Illinois

25. Saint Mary’s

26. Michigan

27. Iowa

28. Arizona

29. Houston

30. Florida

31. Louisiana State

32. N.C. State*

33. Providence

34. Colorado

35. Marquette

36. Rutgers

37. Southern California

38. Indiana

39. Oklahoma

40. East Tennessee State*

41. Utah State*

42. Arizona State

43. Cincinnati*

44. Texas Tech

45. Mississippi State

46. Texas

47. Richmond

48. Stephen F. Austin*

49. Yale*

50. Liberty*

51. Vermont*

52. New Mexico State*

53. Akron*

54. Belmont*

55. North Texas*

56. Bradley*

57. Hofstra*

58. North Dakota State*

59. UC Irvine*

60. Winthrop*

61. Eastern Washington*

62. Little Rock*

63. Northern Kentucky*

64. Boston University*

65. Siena*

66. Prairie View A&M*

67. Robert Morris*

68. N.C. Central*

* — Automatic qualifier as conference champion