Seton Hall’s Simulated 2020 NCAA Tournament results
By Ed Stein
Round of 32
No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers vs No. 3 Seton Hall Pirates
Indiana was one of 10 Big Ten teams to make Lunardi’s bracket. The conference was that good, any doubters should have watched the teams pummel each other in the regular season. It wasn’t easy but despite a losing 9-11 conference record (10th place), coach Archie Miller got his team to 20 wins in 2019-20. The Hoosiers had quad one wins over Florida State, Michigan State, and Ohio State which bolstered their resume.
Willard’s team would have to work hard to win this one, the Hoosiers were nobody’s pushover. Indiana was paced by 6-9 forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. The freshman from Greenwood, IN was tops on the team with 13.5 points, 8.4 boards, and 1.8 blocks per game. Guard Devonte Green was a weapon off the bench. The senior averaged 10.4 PPG.
Battle-tested, the Hoosiers, knocked off sixth-seeded Brigham Young in the opening round to set up this round two game. Maybe they could be the next double-digit seed to make the Sweet 16.
The game was back and forth all night with a host of lead changes. Indiana played Powell very tight. As a result, Seton Hall’s leading scorer shot just 20 percent from behind the arc and a team-worst 36.6 from the floor, overall. All game he struggled to get his shot off.
Fortunately, McKnight was on his game. While IU was focused on Powell, the SHU point guard hit on 52.7 percent from deep, including one in the final two minutes to stick a dagger into Indiana’s heart. Rhoden and Gill teamed up for 16 of Seton Hall’s 36 rebounds.
Final Score: SHU 78 – IU 69. Seton Hall is in the Sweet 16.