Gaming News - March 2007

Redwood City, CA (March 29, 2007) - EA today released the results of their Final Four simulation using NCAA March Madness 07.

From EA:

We predict Ohio State will face UCLA in the championship game.

There will be a new champion in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball after UCLA upset defending champion Florida to advance to the title game against Ohio State, according to an EA SPORTS NCAA March Madness 07 videogame simulation of the Final Four.

EA SPORTS predicted defending champion Florida will be upset 66-65 by UCLA, ending the Gators reign as national champion. UCLA turned away two game-winning shot attempts in the final six seconds to clinch the semifinal victory. Florida broke through to score more points against the Bruins than any team yet in the tournament, but in the end, UCLA’s defense was still good enough to repel the Gators and end their hopes at a repeat title.

In the other semifinal, Ohio State knocked off Georgetown, 72-68, sending the Buckeyes to the national championship game.

Florida turned the ball over 19 times in their semifinal loss and shot just 41% from the field as a team. Their outside shooters were particularly cold, going just 4-for-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

The Gators trailed 33-28 at halftime and led only briefly at a couple points in the second half. The game was tight down the stretch and the Bruins went ahead 66-65 with 15 seconds left. Florida called timeout and set up what should have been a good look for a winning shot, but UCLA’s defense rotated well and contested the shot to force the miss. Florida grabbed the rebound but there were two Bruin defenders there to challenge and force another miss. The rebound was knocked around and time eventually expired, sending the Bruins to their title-game match up against Ohio State.

The Hoyas were remarkably poised down the stretch until the final three minutes when their shooters went cold. Georgetown led Ohio State, 65-62, with three minutes left in the game before the Buckeyes went on a 10-3 run to clinch the victory. The Buckeyes made three consecutive low-post shots to move ahead 68-65 with 1:25 remaining. Georgetown missed five consecutive shots in the final three minutes until scoring a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.