Missing March Madness Bracket Full Schedule Scores Of 2020 Ncaa Tournament

The NCAA on March 12 made the undoubtedly difficult decision to cancel March Madness, prematurely ending the season and leaving only questions as to what might have been). And while college basketball isn’t the only sport missing competition right now, it certainly feels more pointed without that familiar, frenzied sprint to the finish line.

Which led us to this: In lieu of an actual tournament — of upsets, buzzer-beaters, barn-burners, of the thrill of victory and of the agony of defeat — Sporting News instead played out the entire 2020 NCAA Tournament ourselves.

MORE: SN’s final March Madness projections

SN used Ryan Fagan’s final projected Field of 68 to create the field and played out the NCAA Tournament over the course it was supposed to take, from the first round the way through the national championship game. And each team advanced not on who SN thought might have won, but based on voting from SN’s social poll, published on the respective day the games would have been played.

That’s one kind of March Madness.

With that, here’s everything you need to know about the March Madness bracket that could have been: seeds, scores and highlights, and one “Missing March Madness” national champion.

March Madness seeds by region

(Bolded teams are still in play)

Midwest

Kansas 2. Creighton 3. Michigan State 4. Louisville 5. Butler 6. West Virginia 7. Illinois 8. Houston 9. Indiana 10. Utah State 11. ETSU 12. Cincinnati 13. Akron 14. Belmont 15. North Dakota State 16. N.C. Central

West

Gonzaga 2. San Diego State 3. Maryland 4. Oregon 5. Auburn 6. BYU 7. Saint Mary’s 8. Colorado 9. Oklahoma 10. Arizona State 11. Wichita State 12. Liberty 13. New Mexico State 14. UC Irvine 15. Boston University 16. Siena

East

Dayton 2. Florida State 3. Duke 4. Seton Hall 5. Ohio State 6. Iowa 7. Michigan 8. Providence 9. Rutgers 10. Marquette 11. Richmond 12. Yale 13. Vermont 14. Northern Kentucky 15. Hofstra 16. Eastern Washington

South

Baylor 2. Villanova 3. Kentucky 4. Wisconsin 5. Virginia 6. Penn State 7. Arizona 8. LSU 9. USC 10. Florida 11. Texas Tech 12. Stephen F. Austin 13. North Texas 14. Bradley 15. Winthrop 16. Little Rock

MORE: Ranking top 80 upsets in March Madness history