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EA Sims March Madness

by: Phillip Ellis -
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Illinois had its amazing run, Washington got a surprise #1 seed, and even Duke managed to slip into a top seeding -- but in the end, North Carolina outlasted them all.

At least, that's what NCAA® March Madness ™ 2005 came up with after previewing the 2005 NCAA men's basketball tournament. We ran all 63 games through the ringer using the PlayStation®2 version of the game, and the ultra-talented Tar Heels outlasted the balanced Illini in the title game to win their third crown in the last 25 years.
CAROLINA BLUE TOPS TOURNEY FIELD
NCAA® March Madness™ 2005 Sees
the Tar Heels Winning it All

Illinois had its amazing run, Washington got a surprise #1 seed, and even Duke managed to slip into a top seeding -- but in the end, North Carolina outlasted them all.

At least, that's what NCAA® March Madness ™ 2005 came up with after previewing the 2005 NCAA men's basketball tournament. We ran all 63 games through the ringer using the PlayStation®2 version of the game, and the ultra-talented Tar Heels outlasted the balanced Illini in the title game to win their third crown in the last 25 years.




Illinois and North Carolina took their title contest down to the wire, with the Tar Heels taking control in the final minute thanks to solid inside play and some clutch free throws. It was the second straight close game for UNC, as their semifinal game against ACC archrival Duke also went the distance -- the third time this year the two teams battled tooth and nail. Illinois, meanwhile, had an easier time with Louisville in the other semifinal, winning by double-digits.
The top seed in their Syracuse bracket, UNC advanced to the Final Four thanks to convincing wins over Florida in the bracket semifinals and then Kansas in the finals. Duke, meanwhile, showed that it deserved its top seed by defeating Syracuse and Kentucky en route to the showdown against the Tar Heels.

Washington, the aforementioned top seed in the Albuquerque bracket, saw its title hopes fall at the hands of those same Louisville Cardinals in the bracket semifinals, and the Cards then took down Gonzaga to advance to the Final Four. That set up their contest with Illinois, who beat Alabama in their bracket semis and Oklahoma State in the finals to move on to St. Louis.

Major upsets in our simulation included 14th-seeded Utah State beating Arizona in the Chicago regional; Creighton toppling West Virginia in Albuquerque; New Mexico downing Villanova in the Syracuse bracket, another 12-5 upset; and Iowa beating Cincinnati in the Austin bracket.

For the full results check out http://www.easports.com/games/marchmadness2005/tourneysim.jsp.