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Update: If you are looking for this years action, March Madness odds are live on Draftkings Sportsbook
With the lack of a March Madness in 2020, some enterprising folks at Reddit decided to play the tournament out using College Hoops 2K8.
The simulator is playing eight games a day, so let’s break down tomorrow’s matchups. You can find the entire updated bracket here, and check the Reddit CBB Twitter account for links to the livestreams and what time they’ll be available. We’ve already seen an upset as No. 13 seed Vermont knocked off No. 4 Louisville in the first round!
If you’re worried that most of the players in 2020 would have been in kindergarten or first grade when the game was created, fear not: thanks to Operation Sports, the rosters were updated using players and ratings from 2020 to make the game more reflective of what happened on the court this season.
You can enter the DraftKings contest for free here, and let’s check out the matchups!
Today’s matchups
No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. No. 11 UCLA Bruins
Does momentum matter in the simulation? Because UCLA was playing great basketball down the stretch.
No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Penn State would be a fade based on recent form, but they were really impressive until about February.
No. 8 LSU Tigers vs. No 9 Arizona State Sun Devils
There’s probably not a team in the tournament with a higher ceiling or a lower floor than the Tigers.
No. 8 USC Trojans vs. No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers
Congrats Archie Miller, you got in as a comfortable nine-seed without bracketologists pointing out how bad your team was. USC was playing well and poised to make a Pac-12 tournament run too.
No. 3 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 14 Hofstra Pride
Good thing Duke never falls apart on opening weekend (snicker). Hofstra had plenty of upset potential too after 30 wins and rolling through the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
No. 1 Dayton Flyers vs. No. 16 Winthrop Eagles
With no offense to the Big South Champion Winthrop Eagles: Flyers. Sharpie. Obi Toppin is not losing in the opening round.
No. 1 Baylor Bears vs. No. 16 Boston University Terriers
Baylor was certainly not playing great, but the difference in athletic talent here probably keeps a Virginia-UMBC upset from happening.
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