The Biggest Dance of All
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What’s madder than March Madness, the 68-team single-elimination college basketball tournament that takes a month?
The NCAA 364: the 364-team single-elimination tournament that takes three months and crowns the ultimate champion of college basketball.
UPDATE: Some first round upsets already (home team in italics)!
- LaSalle 78 Virginia 69 (#nice)
- SIU Edwardsville 86 Arkansas 79
- UMass Lowell 88 UNLV 86
- Central Connecticut State 84 TCU 76 (OT)
- St. Joseph’s 92 North Carolina 83
- Santa Clara 100 Oregon 82
- Columbia 98 Temple 97
- California 89 Michigan State 86
- Dayton 93 Purdue 76
- Wofford 87 Indiana 76
The idea came from the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which was cancelled by the global COVID-19 pandemic. To fill the void in those weird times, I simulated the entire tournament. Duke won it all, beating East Tennessee State 92-72 in the final.
What to do for an encore? Why not upgrade the tournament?
The idea comes from the great soccer tournaments of Europe, like the FA Cup in England. Every team qualifies, all matchups are randomly chosen, winners advance. Upsets abound, favorites get knocked out early, and a small school can ride a lucky streak all the way to a title.
The schedule for each round is announced at the beginning of the round. The games are simulated, day by day, using the whatifsports.com college basketball simulator. Winners of each game advance to the next round.
Disclaimer: this was just for fun, it’s not an officially sanctioned NCAA event. But you should still use the results for your school’s bragging rights.
Results
Round of 364
Tuesday March 18th
Noon ET: SMU 91 Florida Gulf Coast 77
1 PM ET: Georgia 93 Idaho State 81 (OT)
2 PM ET: Gardner-Webb 90 Tennessee Tech 66
3 PM ET: Akron 80 Loyola-Chicago 76
4 PM ET: Iona 72 Charleston Southern 67
5 PM ET: Seton Hall 66 Mercyhurst 50
6 PM ET: Long Beach State 76 Western Illinois 69
7 PM ET: Northwestern State 80 North Dakota State 71
8 PM ET: Manhattan 75 Presbyterian 72
9 PM ET: Stetson 73 Louisiana-Monroe 61
10 PM ET: Notre Dame 84 Charleston 69
11 PM ET: UTSA 87 Wisconsin 74
Wednesday March 19th
12:05 AM ET: UTRGV 83 Mt. St. Mary’s 78
1 AM ET: LaSalle 78 Virginia 69
2 AM ET: Georgetown 81 Princeton 65
3 AM ET: Colorado 94 Central Arkansas 69
4 AM ET: Western Kentucky 83 Kennesaw State 68
5 AM ET: Mississippi State 83 San Diego State 70
6 AM ET: Texas A&M 74 Tarleton State 56
7 AM ET: North Dakota 79 Jacksonville State 74
8 AM ET: Illinois 82 Portland State 56
9 AM ET: UCLA 85 Canisius 62
10 AM ET: SIU Edwardsville 86 Arkansas 79
11 AM ET: Loyola Marymount 74 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73
Noon ET: James Madison 78 Montana 71
1 PM ET: Villanova 86 Northern Kentucky 63
2 PM ET: California Baptist 87 South Dakota State 83
3 PM ET: UConn 94 Cleveland State 79
4 PM ET: Ohio State 91 UC Riverside 85
5 PM ET: St. Mary’s 86 Kent State 70
6 PM ET: UMass Lowell 88 UNLV 86
7 PM ET: Kansas State 85 Rice 55
8 PM ET: Fairleigh Dickinson 76 Mercer 73
9 PM ET: St. John’s 76 Merrimack 62
10 PM ET: Niagara 94 Virginia Tech 85
11 PM ET: Nevada 84 Portland 72
Thursday March 20th
12:05 AM ET: Stephen F. Austin 87 New Orleans 64
1 AM ET: VCU 76 Tulane 67
2 AM ET: Tennessee-Chattanooga 83 Nicholls State 75
3 AM ET: Monmouth 70 Cincinnati 64
4 AM ET: Eastern Illinois 79 Murray State 64
5 AM ET: Texas Southern 79 Oklahoma 76
6 AM ET: Stonehill 93 Campbell 89
7 AM ET: Baylor 87 Eastern Washington 65
8 AM ET: Central Connecticut State 84 TCU 76 (OT)
9 AM ET: George Washington 76 Prairie View 69
10 AM ET: Idaho 84 Eastern Kentucky 67
11 AM ET: Wright State 79 UC Davis 69
Noon ET: St. Joseph’s 92 North Carolina 83
1 PM ET: Michigan 89 Dartmouth 80
2 PM ET: Colorado State 75 Louisville 69
3 PM ET: Memphis 81 UNC Asheville 72
4 PM ET: Nebraska 86 Cal State Fullerton 77
5 PM ET: Samford 67 Holy Cross 58
6 PM ET: Iowa 97 Radford 90
7 PM ET: St. Thomas 85 Appalachian State 69
8 PM ET: Troy 95 UTEP 91
9 PM ET: Milwaukee 95 Southern Indiana 62
10 PM ET: Central Michigan 66 Arkansas Little Rock 57
11 PM ET: South Carolina 96 Western Carolina 87
Friday March 21st
12:05 AM ET: Coastal Carolina 79 VMI 67
1 AM ET: Texas A&M Corpus Christi 87 Lafayette 81
2 AM ET: Missouri Kansas City 75 San Jose State 66
3 AM ET: Fordham 88 Ohio 76
4 AM ET: Penn 71 Jackson State 60
5 AM ET: Louisiana Tech 74 South Florida 67
6 AM ET: Florida State 80 Bowling Green 70
7 AM ET: Boise State 96 Abilene Christian 74
8 AM ET: Georgia State 83 Harvard 75
9 AM ET: Bryant 78 South Dakota 55
10 AM ET: Penn State 86 Tennessee Martin 63
11 AM ET: Middle Tennessee State 85 Illinois Chicago 77
Noon ET: Arizona 101 Detroit Mercy 71
1 PM ET: BYU 86 Boston University 69
2 PM ET: Army 91 Morehead State 60
3 PM ET: Bradley 77 LSU 65
4 PM ET: Houston Christian 66 The Citadel 59
5 PM ET: Drexel 82 Tulsa 52
6 PM ET: Butler 92 UNC Wilmington 63
7 PM ET: Wagner 57 Coppin State 55
8 PM ET: Montana State 67 Louisiana 57
9 PM ET: Iowa State 74 Kansas 62
10 PM ET: Cal State Northridge 71 Alcorn State 62
11 PM ET: Elon 77 Utah Valley 68
Saturday March 22nd
12:05 AM ET: Toledo 79 Hofstra 74
1 AM ET: Santa Clara 100 Oregon 82
2 AM ET: Alabama A&M 79 Air Force 71
3 AM ET: Saint Louis 86 Fresno State 84 (OT)
4 AM ET: UC San Diego 96 UMass 72
5 AM ET: Western Michgan 90 West Georgia 75
6 AM ET: High Point 103 Sacramento State 70
7 AM ET: USC 79 Loyola (MD) 68
8 AM ET: New Mexico State 79 St. Peter’s 63
9 AM ET: Georgia Tech 83 Furman 76
10 AM ET: Xavier 84 Liberty 70
11 AM ET: McNeese 80 Washington 66
Noon ET: Arizona State 85 Long Island 75
1 PM ET: Duquesne 78 Utah Tech 69
2 PM ET: Texas State 70 Grand Canyon 51
3 PM ET: Illinois State 77 Lamar 66
4 PM ET: Marshall 74 Northern Illinois 57
5 PM ET: Morgan State 85 Oral Roberts 76
6 PM ET: New Mexico 89 Texas 68
7 PM ET: Incarnate Word 74 Rutgers 70
8 PM ET: Maryland 79 Grambling 75
9 PM ET: North Florida 93 Youngstown State 86
10 PM ET: Siena 83 Southern Miss 78
11 PM ET: George Mason 73 Binghamton 69
Sunday March 23rd
12:05 AM ET: Marquette 71 UCF 58
1 AM ET: Stanford 83 Ole Miss 74
2 AM ET: Northern Arizona 89 San Francisco 79
3 AM ET: Bethune-Cookman 66 Buffalo 56
4 AM ET: St. Bonaventure 75 Southern Illinois 71
5 AM ET: Lehigh 73 Mississippi Valley State 47
6 AM ET: Quinnipiac 77 Marist 72
7 AM ET: Miami (OH) 90 Towson 88
8 AM ET: Navy 74 Rhode Island 63
9 AM ET: Kentucky 96 Southern 78
10 AM ET: San Diego 81 Richmond 68
11 AM ET: Alabama 92 Albany 80
Noon ET: Tennessee State 76 Omaha 61
1 PM ET: Texas Arlington 104 Stony Broook 101 (2OT)
2 PM ET: Rider 70 East Texas A&M 60
3 PM ET: West Virginia 83 Delaware 78
4 PM ET: Creighton 91 Florida International 55
5 PM ET: Houston 85 Wake Forest 59
6 PM ET: Old Dominion 87 Howard 72
7 PM ET: UC Santa Barbara 88 Southeast Louisiana 52
8 PM ET: Hampton 76 Oakland 71
9 PM ET: Columbia 98 Temple 97
10 PM ET: Denver 75 North Alabama 66
11 PM ET: Texas Tech 100 North Carolina A&T 76
Monday March 24th
12:05 AM ET: Maryland Eastern Shore 82 Queen’s 73
1 AM ET: Wyoming 69 South Alabama 63
2 AM ET: New Hampshire 77 Le Moyne 74
3 AM ET: Yale 78 East Carolina 69
4 AM ET: Washington State 93 South Carolina State 78
5 AM ET: UMBC 81 Florida A&M 72
6 AM ET: California 89 Michigan State 86
7 AM ET: Clemson 91 William & Mary 79
8 AM ET: Fairfield 77 Southern Utah 64
9 AM ET: Auburn 102 UC Irvine 76
10 AM ET: Florida Atlantic 84 Northern Colorado 71
11 AM ET: Providence 84 Pacific 71
Noon ET: Cornell 89 NJIT 67
1 PM ET: Duke 96 Pepperdine 54
2 PM ET: North Texas 74 Boston College 66
3 PM ET: UNC Greensboro 79 Utah Tech 76
4 PM ET: Cal Poly SLO 86 USC Upstate 58
5 PM ET: Tennessee 85 Green Bay 42
6 PM ET: Drake 82 Longwood 69
7 PM ET: Pittburgh 71 Chicago State 59
8 PM ET: Northern Iowa 81 Colgate 66
9 PM ET: Gonzaga 83 Georgia Southern 70
10 PM ET: Purdue Fort Wayne 67 Davison 63
11 PM ET: Miami (FL) 79 Maine 55
Tuesday March 25th
12:05 AM ET: Sacred Heart 111 Sam Houston 106 (2OT)
1 AM ET: Wichita State 75 Lindenwood 66
2 AM ET: Wofford 87 Indiana 76
3 AM ET: Seattle 78 Robert Morris 76
4 AM ET: Utah State 97 Austin Peay 74
5 AM ET: Vermont 72 Vanderbilt 70
6 AM ET: St. Francis 77 Valparaiso 67
7 AM ET: UNC Charlotte 75 NC State 64
8 AM ET: Jacksonville 80 Evansville 73
9 AM ET: Dayton 93 Purdue 76
10 AM ET: DePaul 71 Bellarmine 50
11 AM ET: IU Indianapolis 75 American 64
Schedule (all times ET)
Round of 364
Tuesday March 25th
Noon ET: Ball State at Minnesota
1 PM ET: Eastern Michigan at Arkansas State
2 PM ET: Oregon State at Southeast Missouri State
3 PM ET: Delaware State at North Carolina Central
4 PM ET: UAB at Missouri
5 PM ET: Syracuse at Winthrop
6 PM ET: Cal State Bakersfield at Indiana State
7 PM ET: East Tennessee State at Florida
8 PM ET: Belmont at Bucknell
9 PM ET: Hawaii at Weber State
10 PM ET: Missouri State at Norfolk State
11 PM ET: Northwestern at Alabama State
Wednesday March 26th
12:05 AM ET: Northeastern at Brown
1 AM ET: Oklahoma State at Lipscomb