Seton Hall’s Simulated 2020 NCAA Tournament results
By Ed Stein
The Seton Hall Pirates were having one of their best seasons in recent memory. Due to COVID-19, we will never know how far SHU could have gone in the NCAA tournament. So why not simulate what might have been.
There will be no March Madness in 2020. In an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19, the NCAA, as well as all professional leagues in North America, have shut down to encourage “social distancing. The cancellation is particularly heartbreaking for the Seton Hall Pirates.
Seton Hall had a great team this season, finishing 2019-20 with a 21-9 record. They tied for a share of the Big East regular-season title at 13-5. Senior guard Myles Powell was selected Big East Player of the Year in a close vote over Marquette’s Markus Howard. Additionally, center Romaro Gill was named as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player.
SHU was looking forward to this year’s tournament. Coach Kevin Willard had his team and their fans convinced that the Pirates could make a long run at the Big Dance. Unfortunately, no one will ever know. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with a simulation.
EWB ran a SIM to see how for Seton Hall could go in the NCAA tournament. I started with ESPN’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi who released his final bracket last week. He had Seton Hall as the West Region’s No. 3 seed and playing their opening-round games in Albany, NY. From there I filled out my bracket the same as if the tournament was really happening, except for SHU games.
Pirates games would be played via simulation on ncaagamesim.com. For each round, five games were played with the composite average as the final score. I also took some notes as the play-by-play was provided to make it a little more colorful (without changing the results).
How did Seton Hall do? Let’s find out.