Mythical March Madness: Round of 32 Games From the Baylor Regional
Publisher's Note: This is our go at Mythical March Madness. The tournament and results are determined using all-time odds for each seed in the tournament for each round of advancement. The roll of dice with rolls of six or below representing the higher-seeded team and rolls of seven or greater representing the lower-seeded team determine results. If the game is written up as close, then the roll of the dice went to the eighth, ninth, or tenth roll. If it is written up as a blowout, then it was decided early.
No. 1 Baylor 81 – No. 8 Illinois 74
The run for Regional host Baylor continues as they get past Illinois 81-74, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2017 season.
With the win, Baylor advances to 28-4 on the season, while Illinois drops to 22-11.
The Bears had a trio of great performances as Jared Butler, MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell all scored in double digits. Forward Freddie Gillespie was just one-point shy of a double-double as he finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
As for Butler, Teague and Mitchell, they all combined for 51 points as they scored 19, 17 and 15 points respectively.
As for Illinois, Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn combined for 38 points, Dosunmu scoring 22 points and Cockburn 16. Cockburn also finished with 12 rebounds.
No. 5 Houston 79 – No. 4 Villanova 71
No. 5 Houston found a way to get past No. 4 Villanova in the final minute and a half of action as they held on for the 79-71 win. This is the second year in a row that Houston has made it to the Sweet 16 as they fell to Kentucky last season 62-58.
With the win, Houston moves to 25-8 overall on the season, and it’s the same result for Villanova.
Houston was led by junior guard DeJon Jarreau, who came off the bench and posted a season-high 19 points, as well as dishing out six assists.
As for Villanova, they were led by sophomore forward Saddiq Bey who posted 17 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 6 Texas Tech 77 – No. 3 Creighton 73
This was the second close game in a row for Texas Tech as they squeak by, and get the 77-73 upset over No. 3 seed Creighton to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third-straight season.
With the win, the Red Raiders move to 20-13 on the season, while Creighton drops to 25-8.
Junior guard Davide Moretti led the way for the Red Raiders as he posted 22 points, 12 of which came from beyond the 3-point line. Moretti also posted six assists and three steals.
As for Creighton, they were led by junior guard Ty-Shon Alexander who posted 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.
No. 2 San Diego State 84 – No. 7 Colorado 68
No. 7 Colorado made a late run against No. 2 San Diego State, but it was too late as SDSU’s lead was just too great, resulting in a huge 84-68 win for the Aztecs. This is the first appearance in the Sweet 16 for SDSU since the 2014 season.
With the win, SDSU moves to 32-2 on the season, while Colorado drops to 22-12.
The Aztecs were led by junior guard Malachi Flynn, who posted 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. They also got a great performance out of forward Matt Mitchell who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Host No. 1 Baylor will face off against in-state No. 5 Houston in the Sweet 16 on March 27, while No. 2 San Diego State will face No. 6 Texas Tech that same night.
