If you wanted to be a dork like me, you could simulate an NCAA Tournament using Massey! Since I missed the tourney last year, while some of the placements are problematic or teams included are interesting, I did a quick sim of this first region.
Region 1
#1 Louisville opened proceedings in San Antonio with a relaxed 74-56 victory over Arkansas State which was never in doubt. Nothing to see here apart from Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith having stellar days.
#8 Alabama emerged victorious against Florida State, using a last second layup to beat #9 Florida State 65-63 as Alabama marched on to face Louisville in the Round of 32.
In the first major upset of the tournament, 12 seed Delaware snatched their first tournament win against #5 DePaul. Jasmine Dickey simply couldn't miss from anywhere and Depaul had no answer for her flying around the court en route to a 30 point game from Dickey. DePaul falls 99-89.
There won't be a second upset here, as #4 Arkansas held court against Dayton behind a double double from Destiny Slocum while Dungee added 20 points to knock out the pride of the A-10 in Dayton 74-68. Much closer than Arkansas would've liked, but they keep dancing.
Veronica Burton comes up with a HUGE last second block to preserve the win against a stellar night out from Natasha Mack. Mack goes off for 28, but didn't get enough help from the rest of her team as Northwestern survives 65-64.
#3 Kentucky learns why Stanford was nearly beaten by California Baptist a few years ago, as they were all square at 62-62 with a minute and a half to go, but Rhyne Howard takes over scoring the last 7 points to put away a pesky Lancers squad.
#7 Arizona State, known for ugly basketball holds Notre Dame to a paltry 49 points as they run away with what seems like a rout with a monumental 55 points of their own. Notre Dame, unsurprisingly gets home after controversially being included in the field.
Nothing to see here, no Chennedy Carter, no problem. TAMU scores 103 as they rout Alabama State 103-53.
Second Round
Louisville barely breaks a sweat as they just seem to keep scoring points on the Crimson Tide erupting for a 99-70 win over a decent squad from the SEC. Haley Van Lith goes for nine assists and just misses out on a double double.
Cinderella's run is over, as Arkansas quiets the doubters after their rough 2-4 start to the SEC as they march on to the Elite 8. Jasmine Dickey can't keep up with the pressure this go round, and Delaware runs out of steam losing 92-68.
Rhyne Howard proves too much for Northwestern, and Edwards shows signs of life as she erupts for 19 points as Kentucky marches onwards to a 68-57 win over Northwestern.
The Arizona State defense is too much for A&M! The squad that dropped 100 in the last round, suddenly goes ice cold as Charli Turner Thorne executes her defense perfectly and marches on to the Sweet 16 with a stunning 53-50 upset of the Aggies with one of her youngest squads in years.
Sweet 16:
Amber Ramirez, Chelsea Dungee, and Destiny Slocum make life irritating for Louisville, as they jumped out to a massive 50-39 lead at the half as Dana Evans struggles from the field. Louisville starts slowly chipping away, and need a buzzer beating three at half court from Dana Evans to survive the Razorbacks. 81-79 Louisville.
Arizona State's run is over, as they remember why Edwards was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the year. The Sun Devils simply ran out of offense as they dropped one to Kentucky, 61-53.
Elite 8:
It's Louisville marching onwards to the final four! Rhyne Howard goes in history books as one of Kentucky's greatest ever, but when she fouls out, Kentucky has no answers for a resurgent Louisville in the final minutes. Louisville advances 72-60.
Early NCAAT bracket article
