Mythical March Madness: 2020 NCAA Tournament bracket simulation

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: Obi Toppin #1 of the Dayton Flyers is guarded by Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: Obi Toppin #1 of the Dayton Flyers is guarded by Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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Mythical March Madness, NCAA Tournament (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Final Four – 1 Kansas vs. 1 Dayton

In the Second Round, Dayton was able to get revenge for one of their only two losses on the season. Now in the Final Four, they get the opportunity to avenge the other regular-season defeat, another overtime loss on a neutral court as they take on the Kansas Jayhawks.

Make no mistake, Kansas has been the best team in college basketball in the 2019-20 season. But we’ve seen Bill Self‘s teams implode at the worst moments throughout his career, despite their talent. And when you then throw in the fact that the Flyers have already proven that they can push this team to the limit, I believe in the clutch gene of Obi Toppin to come up when it matters most and get the Flyers to the title game. Winner: Dayton

Final Four – 3 Seton Hall vs. 6 Virginia

This is probably not the matchup that anyone would have foreseen coming into the 2020 NCAA Tournament but, at the same time, it’s one that makes sense. If the Pirates were able to put it all together for four games, Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight are capable of carrying this team to the highest of highs. Meanwhile, Tony Bennett’s patented pack-line defense showed last year how far it can take them.

In this matchup, however, the defense isn’t enough to save the Cavaliers. At some point, the defending champs are going to have to match a team that gets going offensively, which Seton Hall can do against anyone. They don’t have the firepower to do so here, however, which pushes the Pirates through to the final game of the season.

National Championship – 1 Dayton vs. 3 Seton Hall

It’s poetic that, in Mythical March Madness with the 2020 NCAA Tournament not actually being played, we get a matchup between two players who it’s a crying shame that we didn’t get to see their college careers actually end with Dayton’s Obi Toppin and Seton Hall’s Myles Powell — even if it’s not exactly a matchup that the TV networks would pray for to boost the ratings. But who emerges to cut down the nets?

On the whole, the Flyers and Pirates are not unevenly matched by any stretch of the imagination. And with their two stars, they have the guys who can come up in the biggest moments that the National Championship would offer. For me, however, Seton Hall can’t contain Toppin on the boards, which makes their best player a matchup nightmare for the Pirates. And that’s the deciding factor to complete Dayton’s dream 2019-20 season.

Mythical March Madness National Champion: Dayton Flyers

Next. 20 biggest upsets in the history of March Madness. dark

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