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.”
Here are the brackets from our Selection Faux. The final @jwgiglio YPs at the N&O. https://t.co/1hLpJqeD5Z First, the west. pic.twitter.com/36iA26TVUQ
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) March 15, 2020
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