As part of this bracket simulation, I will be considering which teams would have made the March Madness bracket this year and what the results of the match-ups would have been. As far as the “Selection Sunday” potion, I must consider both the automatic qualifiers and the at-large bids. For automatic qualifiers, I will consider team odds and other information to determine who will win the conference. For at-large, I will take into consider similar information, including, but not limited to, major victories, strength of schedule, and season-long performance.

Some very helpful sources for completing these rankings and predicting who made the tournament were: Vegas odds via OddsShark and TeamRankings.com.

*For the purposes of this article I ignored the first four, so only 64 teams were selected.*

Automatic Qualifiers

ACC: Virginia

America East: Vermont

American: UConn

Atlantic-10: Dayton

Atlantic Sun: Liberty

Big 12: Kansas

Big Ten: Michigan State

Big East: Creighton

Big Sky: Eastern Washington

Big South: Winthrop

Big West: UC Irvine

Colonial Athletic: Hofstra

Conference-USA: Western Kentucky

Horizon: Northern Kentucky

Ivy: Yale

MAC: Akron

Metro Atlantic: Saint Peters

Mid-Eastern: North Carolina A&T

Missouri Valley: Bradley

Mountain West: Utah State

Northeast: Robert Morris

Ohio Valley: Belmont

PAC-12: Oregon

Patriot: Boston University

SEC: Kentucky

Southern: East Tennessee State

Southland: Stephen F. Austin

Southwestern: Texas Southern

Summit: North Dakota State

Sun Belt: Texas State

WAC: New Mexico State

WCC: Gonzaga

At-Large Bids

ACC (3): Duke, Louisville, Florida State

Big 12 (6): West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Tech

Big Ten (9): Maryland, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Rutgers, Penn State, Illinois, Wisconsin

Big East (6): Providence, Xavier, Butler, Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova

Mountain West (1): San Diego State

PAC-12 (3): Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State

SEC (3): Auburn, LSU, Florida

WCC (1): BYU

Just Missed: NC State, Purdue, Cincinnati, USC, Tennessee, Mississippi State, St. Mary’s

America East, American, Atlantic-10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial Athletic, Conference-USA, Horizon, Ivy, MAC, Metro Atlantic, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC all had no at-large bids.

The Bracket

Midwest

1. Kansas 16. Boston University 2. Creighton 15. Saint Peters 3. Michigan State 14. Eastern Washington 4. Louisville 13. Belmont 5. Butler 12. New Mexico State 6. Providence 11. Akron 7. Iowa 10. Utah State 8. Michigan 9. Florida

West

1. Gonzaga 16. Robert Morris 2. Oregon 15. Texas Southern 3. San Diego State 14. UC Irvine 4. Virginia 13. Bradley 5. Wisconsin 12. Stephen F. Austin 6. BYU 11. Oklahoma State 7. Illinois 10. Marquette 8. Colorado 9. Arizona State

South

1. Baylor 16. Winthrop 2. Florida State 15. Texas State 3. Kentucky 14. North Carolina A&T 4. Maryland 13. North Dakota State 5. Auburn 12. Western Kentucky 6. West Virginia 11. Vermont 7. Arizona 10. Texas Tech 8. Oklahoma 9. Xavier

East

1. Dayton 16. Northern Kentucky 2. Villanova 15. Liberty 3. Duke 14. Hofstra 4. Seton Hall 13. Yale 5. Ohio State 12. UConn 6. Penn State 11. Indiana 7. LSU 10. Rutgers 8. East Tennessee State 9. Texas

Round One Matchup Simulations

For the game simulations, I used WhatIfSports sim matchup tool.

Midwest

(1) Kansas 75 vs. (16) Boston University 65

Notable Performance: Marcus Garrett 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals

(2) Creighton 75 vs. (15) Saint Peters 61

Notable Performance: Ty-Shon Alexander 27 points, 7 rebounds

(3) Michigan State 100 vs (14) Eastern Washington 90

Notable Performance: Xavier Tillman 21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists

(4) Louisville 99 vs. (13) Belmont 86

Notable Performance: Jordan Nwora 21 points, 6 rebounds

(5) Butler 67 vs. (12) New Mexico State 75

Notable Performance: Trevelin Queen 18 points, 7 rebounds

(6) Providence 91 vs. (11) Akron 67

Notable Performance: Alpha Diallo 22 points, 11 rebounds

(7) Iowa 78 vs. (10) Utah State 87

Notable Performance: Justin Bean 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals

(8) Michigan 87 vs. (9) Florida 67

Notable Performance: Jon Teske 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

West

(1) Gonzaga 83 vs. (16) Robert Morris 63

Notable Performance: Corey Kispert 20 points, 3 assists

(2) Oregon 79 vs. (15) Texas Southern 77

Notable Performance: Shakur Juiston 10 points, 6 rebounds

(3) San Diego State 91 vs. (14) UC Irvine 64

Notable Performance: Malachi Flynn 24 points

(4) Virginia 79 vs. (13) Bradley 71

Notable Performance: Kihei Clark 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

(5) Wisconsin 74 vs. (12) Stephen F. Austin 68

Notable Performance: D’Mitrik Trice 13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

(6) BYU 83 vs. (11) Oklahoma State 54

Notable Performance: Yoeli Childs 20 points, 13 rebounds

(7) Illinois 65 vs. (10) Marquette 81

Notable Performance: Markus Howard 36 points

(8) Colorado 67 vs. (9) Arizona State 83

Notable Performance: Rob Edwards 20 points

South

(1) Baylor 94 vs. (16) Winthrop 78

Notable Performance: Jared Butler 23 points

(2) Florida State 79 vs. (15) Texas State 77

Notable Performance: Devin Vassell 27 points, 6 rebounds

(3) Kentucky 87 vs. (14) North Carolina A&T 83

Notable Performance: Tyrese Maxey 22 points, 7 assists

(4) Maryland 82 vs. (13) North Dakota State 68

Notable Performance: Anthony Cowan 28 points

(5) Auburn 87 vs. (12) Western Kentucky 82

Notable Performance: Isaac Okoro 14 points, 10 rebounds

(6) West Virginia 83 vs. (11) Vermont 63

Notable Performance: Derek Culver 21 points, 22 rebounds

(7) Arizona 74 vs. (10) Texas Tech 64

Notable Performance: Josh Green 18 points, 9 rebounds

(8) Oklahoma 69 vs. (9) Xavier 81

Notable Performance: Tyrique Jones 26 points, 20 rebounds

East

(1) Dayton 80 vs. (16) Northern Kentucky 76

Notable Performance: Obi Toppin 14 points, 10 rebounds

(2) Villanova 73 vs. (15) Liberty 68

Notable Performance: Justin Moore 23 points

(3) Duke 99 vs. (14) Hofstra 76

Notable Performance: Tre Jones 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists

(4) Seton Hall 90 vs. (13) Yale 78

Notable Performance: Myles Powell 30 points, 9 rebounds

(5) Ohio State 81 vs. (12) UConn 66

Notable Performance: Kaleb Wesson 15 points

(6) Penn State 87 vs. (11) Indiana 76

Notable Performance: Lamar Stevens 24 points, 9 rebounds

(7) LSU 74 vs. (10) Rutgers 71

(8) East Tennessee State 67 vs. (9) Texas 58

Notable Performance: Desonta Bradford 12 points

Round Two Matchup Simulations

Midwest

(1) Kansas 81 vs. (8) Michigan 69

Notable Performance: Devon Dotson 15 points, 5 assists

(2) Creighton 89 vs. (10) Utah State 92

Notable Performance: Sam Merrill 32 points

(3) Michigan State 90 vs. (6) Providence 77

Notable Performance: Xavier Tillman 21 points, 10 rebounds

(4) Louisville 83 vs. (12) New Mexico State 82

Notable Performance: Dwayne Sutton 14 points, 8 rebounds

West

(1) Gonzaga 90 vs. (9) Arizona State 81

Notable Performance: Killian Tillie 18 points

(2) Oregon 91 vs. (10) Marquette 77

Notable Performance: Payton Pritchard 27 points, 7 assists

(3) San Diego State 77 vs. (6) BYU 83

Notable Performance: Yoeli Childs 20 points, 10 rebounds

(4) Virginia 77 vs. (5) Wisconsin 72

Notable Performance: Mamadi Diakite 18 points, 9 rebounds

South

(1) Baylor 65 vs. (9) Xavier 74

Notable Performance: Naji Marshall 18 points, 10 rebounds

(2) Florida State 74 vs. (7) Arizona 70

Notable Performance: Devin Vassell 13 points, 8 rebounds

(3) Kentucky 55 vs. (6) West Virginia 73

Notable Performance: Oscar Tshiebwe 10 points, 16 rebounds

(4) Maryland 85 vs. (5) Auburn 92

Notable Performance: Samir Doughty: 27 points

East

(1) Dayton 86 vs. (8) East Tennessee State 82

Notable Performance: Rodney Chatman 24 points, 7 rebounds

(2) Villanova 83 vs. (7) LSU 90

Notable Performance: Ja’vonte Smart 20 points, 6 assists

(3) Duke 87 vs. (6) Penn State 74

Notable Performance: Vernon Carey 24 points, 8 rebounds

(4) Seton Hall 86 vs. (5) Ohio State 92

Notable Performance: Kaleb Wesson 16 points, 11 rebounds

Round of Sixteen Matchup Simulations

Midwest

(1) Kansas 86 vs. (4) Louisville 88

Notable Performance: Dwayne Sutton 19 points, 10 rebounds

(3) Michigan State 87 vs. (10) Utah State 84

Notable Performance: Xavier Tillman 16 points, 8 assists

West

(1) Gonzaga 77 vs. (4) Virginia 82

Notable Performance: Kihei Clark 15 pounds, 9 assists, 5 rebounds

(2) Oregon 79 vs. (6) BYU 82

Notable Performance: Yoeli Childs 17 points, 10 rebounds

South

(5) Auburn 83 vs. (9) Xavier 72

Notable Performance: Samir Doughty 18 points

(2) Florida State 65 vs. (6) West Virginia 68

Notable Performance: Jermaine Haley 15 points, 7 rebounds

East

(1) Dayton 82 vs. (5) Ohio State 63

Notable Performance: Jalen Crutcher 19 points, 5 rebounds

(3) Duke 93 vs. (7) LSU 87

Notable Performance: Vernon Carey 22 points, 14 rebounds

Elite Eight Matchup Simulations

Midwest

(3) Michigan State 75 vs. (4) Louisville 81

Notable Performance: Jordan Nwora 21 points, 6 rebounds

West

(4) Virginia 73 vs. (6) BYU 77

Notable Performance: Yoeli Childs 19 points, 6 rebounds

South

(5) Auburn 66 vs. (6) West Virginia 84

Notable Performance: Derek Culver 18 points, 16 rebounds

East

(1) Dayton 93 vs. (3) Duke 77

Notable Performance: Obi Toppin 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists

Final Four Matchup Simulations

(6) BYU 68 vs. (6) West Virginia 83

Notable Performance: Oscar Tshiebwe 15 points, 9 rebounds

(1) Dayton 91 vs. (4) Louisville 79

Notable Performance: Jalen Crutcher 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness Simulation

(1) Dayton 82 vs. (6) West Virginia 78

Notable Performances:

Obi Toppin 14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals

Jalen Crutcher 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds

Oscar Tschiebwe 9 points, 15 rebounds

Derek Culver 17 points, 12 rebounds