Florida basketball: Let’s simulate the NCAA tournament anyway
We may not be able to actually watch Florida basketball in the NCAA tournament this year, but that’s not stopping us from playing the games anyway.
Yes, we are all heartbroken by the fact that Florida basketball won’t be in the NCAA tournament.
We won’t get to witness any Cinderella stories or stunning upsets. No 16-seed knocking off a No. 1 in the first round.
No thrilling 8-9 matchup or laying odds on which No. 10 seed beats a No. 7 in the first round.
But, that’s not going to stop us from playing the games anyway.
Using the NCAA Game Simulator and Joe Lunardi’s final Bracketology bracket on ESPN, we will simulate every game in the tournament to determine a national champion. Note: the simulator has its own bracket which is slightly different, but we’ll use Lunardi’s because it is widely known.
More importantly, we’ll follow Florida basketball on its quest to win a national championship.
Let’s set the stage.
We’ll assume Florida basketball won the SEC tournament.
At last look, the Gators were a No. 9 seed in the East Region. They were paired up with No. 8 seeded Colorado to play in Cleveland.
In this random simulation — and believe me, it can go a lot of different ways, so we take the first simulation — Florida basketball comes away with a 76-51 win over the Buffaloes.
The Gators hold Colorado to just one player in double figures — Tyler Bey with 14. Florida basketball outrebounds the Buffaloes 40-34 and Kerry Blackshear Jr. returns from his wrist injury to lead the Gators with 24 points and eight rebounds.
Andrew Nembhard adds 15 points while Noah Locke has 11 points and a steal. Scottie Lewis and Keyontae Johnson each have nine points in the win.
Most notably, the Gators shoot 50 percent from the field to Colorado’s 31.4 percent. Additionally, Florida basketball is 47.6 percent from beyond the arc with Blackshear going 4-for-4 and Locke shooting 3-for-5.
That puts the Gators in the regional quarterfinals. Let’s see how the rest of the field stacks up.
East
No. 1 Dayton 91, No. 16 Boston University 71
No. 9 Florida 76, No. 8 Colorado 51
No. 5 Butler 70, No. 12 Texas 62
No. 4 Maryland 71, No. 13 Akron 50
No. 6 Penn State 83, No. 11 NC State 49
No. 3 Villanova 93, No. 14 Hofstra 61
No. 7 West Virginia 79, No. 10 Utah State 65
No. 2 Florida State 73, No. 15 Northern Kentucky 43
Next round
No. 1 Dayton vs. No. 9 Florida
No. 5 Butler vs. No. 4 Maryland
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Villanova
No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 2 Florida State
Midwest
No. 1 Kansas 74, No. 16 Siena 64
No. 9 Marquette 69, No. 8 Houston 68
No. 5 Auburn 68, No. 12 Liberty 62
No. 4 Wisconsin 101, No. 13 North Texas 53
No. 6 Iowa 65, No. 11 East Tennessee State 61
No. 3 Duke 83, No. 14 Belmont 62
No. 10 Arizona State 87, No. 7 Providence 68
No. 2 Kentucky 71, No. 15 North Dakota State 62
Next round
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 Marquette
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 4 Wisconsin
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 3 Duke
No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 2 Kentucky
West
No. 1 Gonzaga 101, No. 16 North Carolina Central 54
No. 8 LSU 70, No. 9 Oklahoma 66
No. 5 Michigan 87, No. 12 Yale 74
No. 4 Oregon 82, No. 13 New Mexico State 80
No. 11 Indiana 89, No. 6 BYU 64
No. 3 Seton Hall 82, No. 14 Eastern Washington 79
No. 7 Arizona 75, No. 10 Texas Tech 73
No. 15 UC Irvine 62, No. 2 San Diego State 54
Next round
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 8 LSU
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 4 Oregon
No. 11 Indiana vs. No. 3 Seton Hall
No. 7 Arizona vs. No. 15 UC Irvine
South
No. 1 Baylor 89, No. 16 Winthrop 73
No. 8 St. Mary’s 77, No. 9 Rutgers 65
No. 5 Ohio State 73, No. 12 Stephen F. Austin 68
No. 4 Louisville 75, No. 13 Vermont 64
No. 11 Cincinnati 70, No. 6 Virginia 54
No. 14 Bradley 74, No. 3 Michigan State 69
No. 7 Illinois 63, No. 10 USC 61
No. 2 Creighton 65, No. 15 Little Rock 59
Next round
No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 8 St. Mary’s
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Louisville
No. 11 Cincinnati vs. No. 14 Bradley
No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 2 Creighton
So, there you have it. Florida basketball will take on No. 1 seed Dayton in the next round.
Next. All Florida competitions suspended until March 30. dark
Plenty of upsets and at least we get a little March Madness to tinker with.