Now that the smoke is cleared, we've inserted the teams currently still playing and simulated the rest of the NCAA Tournament to find a winner. The following below is only the South and the West Regional simulations of the bracket. You can find the Midwest, East, and Final Four simulations in a separate article by CLICKING HERE. Now, let's begin breaking down our March Madness 08 simulation below to see what's developed.
South Regional Simulation - Sweet 16
| Dick Vitale's prediction of Michigan State beating Memphis has come true in our South Regional simulation. Michigan State certainly has a toughness about them, so don't be surprised to see the Spartans hang around long enough to find a way to win in the end. If the Tigers do lose, free throws won't be the difference. Most people don't know that the difference between a team that shoots 75% from the line and 65% (Memphis) from the line is about 2.5 pts per game. Good teams can make up 2-3 points a game with one extra box out, one extra steal, or just simply one extra shot made. In the other Sweet 16 game in the South Regional the Texas Longhorns took out the Stanford Cardinal 85-67. The inside game clearly favors the Cardinal in this one, but the Longhorns have enough shooters on the outside to get by. |  |
West Regional Simulation - Sweet 16
| In the West Regional Simulation the UCLA Bruins ran all over the WKU Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky simply does not play enough defense to pull off this kind of an upset, so the final score of this game probably won't be too far off of Thursday's final. In the bottom half of the West Regional the West Virginia Mountaineers continue their solid play by knocking out Xavier 82-77. West Virginia actually enters this game as a 1-point favorite in Vegas, so a Mountaineers win certainly isn't too far fetched. The Elite 8 matchup of UCLA and WVU should be a great game, but the fact that the game will have to be played in California should be a major advantage to the Bruins. |  |
Elite 8 Simulation - South and West Regional Games
| The great run by the Michigan State Spartans finally comes to a halt as the Texas Longhorns take them out in the Elite 8 94-86. If the Spartans do wind up getting Texas I actually think it may be a good thing because this Michigan State team has a bit more experience and I'm not sure they could handle the Lopez twins from Stanford down low. The bad news is this game will be played in Houston, so it's still hard to pick against the Longhorns. In the West Regional the UCLA Bruins advance to the Final Four yet again by defeating WVU 81-66. UCLA vs. Texas should be a great game, especially because the Final Four is in San Antonio this year. |  |
To View the Midwest, East, and Final Four bracket simulations CLICK HERE.
