March Madness Simulated: The West Region

Here it is, the final region simulated of March Madness. This one was done by Mookie of Stupid Sideline Reporters! Enjoy!

Here it is. The final simulated region post is here! We’ve seen Gonzaga, Louisville, and Duke make their way to Detroit. Who will leave Glendale as West regional champions? Find out after the jump…..

#1 UConn vs. #16 Chattanooga: UConn has had troubles with a #16 seed team before. They were down by double digits to Albany before rallying to win 71-58. Yet again they were in trouble and led only 9-8 in the half and fell behind 44-42 at the end of the first 20 minutes. Chattanooga threw everything at UConn and it worked! They still were up 67-63 with :29 to go, history was in the making and just :07 remained. AJ PRICE HITS THE JUMPER!!! It’s a 2 point game with :07 left!! They foul Khalil Hartwell with :04 left! A one-and-one for Chattanooga! They’re just 10-21 from the free throw line!!! HARTWELL MISSES THE FREE THROW!! JEFF ADRIEN THE REBOUND!!!! LETS IT GO FROM BEYOND HALF COURT FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!! HE SCORES ON A PRAYER AND UCONN HAS WON!!!!!!!!! A 68-67 THRILLER FOR THE HUSKIES AND THERE WILL BE NO #16 SEED WINNING THIS YEAR!!!! REMARKABLE!!!

# 8 BYU vs. #9 Texas A&M: The Aggies weren’t bad. Not at all. They lost because BYU shot 54% from the field and couldn’t miss! BYU put up 50 in the first half and never looked back. Something clicked for the Cougars and cruised to victory 83-65 in a game that got boring from the 2nd half onwards.

#5 Purdue vs. #12 Northern Iowa: In one instant, tip-off in Portland between Purdue and Northern Iowa. Moments later, it’s 15-1 Purdue. The Big Ten side hit 8-12 from downtown and the rout was on. Once the Boilermakers started they were never threatened and won in blowout fashion 68-47.

#4 Washington vs. #13 Mississippi State: Jarvis Varnado recorded 3 blocked shots and the Bulldogs beat up on Jon Brockman. The All-Pac-10 first team star was held to 2-9 shooting, but did pick up 10 rebounds. It was a close game throughout, but Washington went on an 8-0 run in the final 2:36 to beat eliminate Mississippi State 77-67. That’s right, MSU went cold when it mattered and are out.

#6 Marquette vs. #11 Utah State: The loss of Dominic James has led to the collapse of the Golden Eagles. They were dominated on the boards and the bench contributed little. Despite all of that, they hung around with the Aggies, who were looking to pull off an upset. A jumper from the perimeter by Lazar Hayward cut Utah State’s lead to 66-64 with 5:36 to go. Wesley Matthews scored the next 2 points for Marquette……with 1:29 left. By then it was too late and Utah State pulled away for the 81-72 upset.

#3 Missouri vs. #14 Cornell: The Ivy League school actually led most of the first half, and by as many as 8 points. Missouri would bounce back from a slow start and take a 37-32 lead into the locker room. In the 2nd half the Tigers blew the doors off of Cornell and won 79-60. Mizzou shot an astounding 55% from the floor and the bench contributed 29 points.

#7 California vs. #10 Maryland: Greivis Vasquez was held to 16 points on 6-17 shooting, a huge factor was taken out of Maryland’s offense. The Terps however would not prove to be a one man show. Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes helped get their side to within striking distance against the Berkeley school. In the end though, it’s another game that won’t go down to the wire. The huge difference was free throw shooting. Cal shot 19-21 from the stripe, while Maryland was a poor 19-21. The 74-69 scoreline in favor of the Golden Bears is deceiving, as Cal was up by 11 and Maryland hit a three at the end of the game.

#2 Memphis vs. #15 Cal-State Northridge: A dismal first round in the West region was capped off with another blowout win. Like the majority of #15 and #16 seeded teams in the tournament, CS-Northridge hung around in the first half only to get wiped out in the second half. A 75-58 win for the Tigers, whose defense forced 20 turnovers and 7 blocked shots.

2nd Round
#1 UConn vs. #8 BYU: Once again the Huskies got off to a woeful start in the first half. BYU took a surprising 41-31 lead into the break, and looked to do what Chattanooga couldn’t do and finish them off. Unfortunately, they lost their lead late. AJ Price, who led all scorers with 23 points, hit the go-ahead three to make it 62-59 with 2:52. Back and forth they went and UConn held a slim 66-65 lead with :11 left. Price goes to the line. He hits the front end of the one-and-one. Hits the back end. It’s 68-65! BYU WITH ONE LAST CHANCE!!!! JACKSON EMERY FOR THE TIE!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!! IT IS TIED AT 68-68 WITH :06 LEFT!!! UCONN PUSHES AHEAD!!! PRICE AT THE BUZZER!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!! CONNECTICUT WINS AT THE BUZZER AGAIN!!! AJ PRICE HITS A THREE FROM THE LEFT WING AND THE HUSKIES WIN IT 71-68!!! HEARTBREAK CITY FOR BYU!!!

#4 Washington vs. #5 Purdue: Purdue was unable to handle the fast pace of the Washington Huskies for the full 40 minutes. The Boilermakers played their style of basketball and took a 37-32 lead into halftime. However, Washington but up 50 in the 2nd half and Darnell Gant’s jumper with 9:35 left gave the Huskies a 56-55 lead. They never relinquished their advantage and won 82-73.

#3 Missouri vs. #11 Utah State: You aren’t going to win with a -17 rebound differential. Missouri’s lack of a strong rebounder killed them in the 2nd half. A torrid first half saw them lead 42-41, but too many second chances for the Aggies and one-and-dones for the Tigers meant another upset! Utah State beat Missouri 81-71!

#2 Memphis vs. #7 California: Cal never led in this game, had a -16 differential in the boards and the game was over by halftime. A comfortable 82-59 win for Memphis means they advance to the Sweet 16.

Sweet 16
#1 UConn vs. #4 Washington: Well, at least my Washington Huskies went further than JFein’s Villanova Wildcats! The third time in a row these teams face off in the regional semis, and this time there would be no dramatic finish. Five UConn players finished with double-digit point totals and won 87-78 over U-Dub. A 12 point lead for UConn at the break was too much for Washington to overcome.

#2 Memphis vs. #11 Utah State: Unfortunately, the Aggies would not have a third straight upset. As was the theme of the simulated tournament for most of the regionals, a close game broke open when one team forgot to score points in the clutch. A 64-62 lead for the Tigers turned to 73-62 with 2:46 to go and they won the game 79-70. This sets up the highly anticipated matchup between UConn and Memphis.

Elite Eight
#1 UConn vs. #2 Memphis: What? Another blowout? UConn wins 66-52 over Memphis. While the outcome may not be a shocker, the score was surprising. It was a regional final to forget for the crowd in Glendale and the millions watching on TV. It was however an impressive display by the Huskies, who advance to the Final Four.

What will happen in the Final Four when Louisville takes on UConn and Duke takes on Gonzaga? Find out later tonight or tomorrow!