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Update: The odds for March Madness 2021 are already live at Draftkings sportsbook.
The second round of Reddit’s March Madness 2020 is here, where our friends at Reddit are playing out what would have been the NCAA tournament using College Hoops 2K8.
This weekend the entire second round will be played out from Thursday to Sunday, bringing us to the Sweet 16. The simulators will play four games a day, and here we’ll break down the Thursday and Friday 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.
Operation Sports provided updated rosters, so the games will be using players and ratings from 2020 to make the video games more accurate and reflective of what happened on the court this season.
You can enter the DraftKings contest for free here, and let’s check out the bracket!
Thursday’s matchups: Midwest Regional
No. 2 Creighton Bluejays vs. No. 7 Illinois Fighting Illini
The Bluejays beat UC-Irvine 91-78 to reach this round, while Illinois slipped past Sam Merrill and the Utah State Aggies 69-63. Merrill was 10-34 from the field for 27 points in the simulated loss.
No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes
Big Blue Nation rolled past No. 14 Bradley 79-63 behind 27 points from Johnny Juzang, while Luka Garza and Iowa took care of a hot Texas team 85-72.
No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 8 Saint Mary’s Gaels
In one of the stunners of the virtual tournament so far, top-overall seed Kansas barely squeaked by North Carolina Central 72-62 to advance this far. The Gales needed 38 from Tanner Krebs to slide by the No. 9 Houston Cougars 96-93 in the highest-scoring first round affair.
No. 5 BYU Cougars vs. No. 13 Vermont Catamounts
The Coogs did everything they could to give the game away late to Stephen F. Austin, but held on for the 78-75 win. Meanwhile Vermont pulled one of the bigger upsets of the first round knocking off No. 4 Louisville with this three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left by Robin Duncan.
Friday’s matchups: West Regional
No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 15 Eastern Washington Eagles
Behind 37 from the Big East’s all-time leading scorer Markus Howard, Marquette pulled the mild upset over Arizona 86-70. But one of the biggest upsets of the first round was Eastern Washington’s 78-68 win over San Diego State to advance. It looks like the downtrend for SDSU late in the season came back to bite them.
No. 3 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers
The Spartans knocked off UALR 82-66 to advance, while Virginia is still in the hunt to defend their national championship via a 78-62 win over upstart East Tennessee State.
No. 4 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 12 Akron Zips
The Ducks kept New Mexico State from their first NCAA win since 1993 with a 78-68 victory over the Aggies. Akron pulled the infamous 12/5 upset with a 90-85 over Ohio State behind 19 points and 10 rebounds from Xeyrius Williams.
No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners
The Zags rolled through Siena 95-63, while Oklahoma’s Alondes Williams had 21 points in the Sooners 76-60 win over Colorado.
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