Last week College Hoops 2K8 played the role offortune teller for the 2009/2010 college basketball season.This week NCAA Basketball 10 gets to be the fortune teller.

Sporting dynamic rosters and statistical updates throughout the real world college basketball season, NCAA 10 has promised to deliver some of the most realistic statistical data ever in a college title. For this simulation, I used the dynamic update released on December 1, and the named rosters put together by the OS community. Like in the College Hoops simulation, the entire season was simulated with injuries on for reference. It should also be noted that this simulation was run with authentic team schedules -- College Hoops 2K8’s was not.

Season Storyline

NCAA Basketball 10’s season was far more predictable than the one in College Hoops. With that being said, the 09/10 season will still have its fair share of excitement, at least according to EA's game.

Kansas once again controlled the Polls. The Jayhawks finished up 32-1 and never gave up the top spot in the polls. In fact, their only regular season loss came against the Texas Longhorns in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. The Longhorns did not have too bad of a year themselves, accumulating a 30-2 record and a number two overall ranking in the land.

Kansas and Texas were not the only two teams battling for national supremacy either. The SEC saw both Kentucky and Tennessee go blow for blow in two epic regular season games and one thrilling conference championship game. Behind Freshman phenom John Wall, the Wildcats were able to earn regular season bragging rights. However, it was the explosive Tennessee offense that eventually prevailed in the SEC Conference Championship game -- the Vols dropped 97 points on their way to a 15 point victory.

The Michigan State Spartans bounced back from their awful College Hoops 2K8 performance, winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Georgetown, Villanova and West Virginia all battled it out for the Big East, with the Mountaineers finishing 14-4 in conference to grab the regular season crown. But Nova did get the last laugh, beating the Hoyas in the Big East Championship game. The ACC belonged to North Carolina. In addition, Duke fans can rest easy after College Hoops 2K8’s prediction -- the Blue Devils finished a respectable 23-7 on the year.

The Pac-10 was where one of the more head-scratching situations occurred in the simulation -- Oregon State going 24-3, winning both the conference regular season title and conference championship, yet never cracking the Top 25 in the polls. In other Pac-10 news, College Hoops 2K8’s mighty Arizona Wildcats fell to a lowly 8-20, but the Cal Bears proved to be a national power, winning 20 games on the season.

America’s team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, struggled through the season and finished at a very average 15-11. And on a sad note, College Hoops 2K8’s first overall tournament seed Pittsburgh could not even muster an in-conference win, finishing a year to forget at 10-20.

Final Top 10 Rankings

1.Kansas (32-1)
2.Texas (30-2)
3.Kentucky (30-3)
4.Villanova (26-5)
5.North Carolina (26-5)
6.Tennessee (27-4)
7.Ohio State (25-7)
8.Michigan State (26-5)
9.Georgetown (24-7)
10. Duke (23-7)

Tournament One Seeds

East: Kentucky
South: Villanova
West: Kansas (first overall seed)
Midwest: Texas

Top Four Tournament Seeds by Region

East:
1. Kentucky
2. Ohio State
3. California
4. Georgia Tech

South:
1. Villanova
2. Michigan State
3. West Virginia
4. Michigan

West:
1. Kansas
2. North Carolina
3. Georgetown
4. Syracuse

Midwest
1. Texas
2. Tennessee
3. Duke
4. Purdue

Tournament Storyline

During the first weekend of the tournament, there was two big upsets: fourth-seeded Michigan losing to thirteenth-seeded UMass, and fourth-seeded Syracuse collapsing against thirteenth-seeded Wake Forest. The loss by Syracuse allowed fifth-seeded Minnesota to cruise to the Sweet 16, as the Golden Gophers beat Wake by 15 points to advance to play first-seeded Villanova for a trip to the Elite 8. Minnesota was no match for a Villanova squad on a mission, and the Wildcats proceeded to beat second-seeded Michigan State 84-69 to advance to a second straight Final Four.

Kentucky would join Villanova in the Final Four, defeating fourth-seeded Georgia Tech (who earlier defeated third-seeded California), and then second-seeded Ohio State. The Jayhawks absolutely demolished their opposition on their way to the Final Four, beating thirteenth-seeded Vanderbilt by 23 and then second-seeded North Carolina (who had defeated third-seeded Georgetown) by 17. The Final ticket to Indianapolis was punched by #1 seed Texas, a team that jumped at the chance of getting another shot at arch rival Kansas. The Long Horns squeaked by #4 Purdue 67-61, defeated the #2 seeded Volunteers by 13, and entered the Final Four with gusto, beating #3 Duke 82-63.

Final Four

West: first-seeded Kansas
vs.
South: first-seeded Villanova

Midwest: second-seeded Texas
vs.
East: first-seeded Kentucky

Kansas defeated Villanova 81-70.
Texas defeated Kentucky 64-62.

In what could be called a dream scenario for the Big 12, the Jayhawks and Longhorns would meet for a fourth time during the 09/10 season.

National Championship

Kansas defeated Texas 73-68.

Kansas defeated the Longhorns three out of four times during the 09/10 season, with the last victory placing them atop the college basketball world. Even with the defeat, the Longhorns proved they were the second-best team in the country by a large margin.

Season Awards

POTY: Devin Ebanks (West Virginia) 20.8 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.8 BPG
Coach of the Year: Bill Self (Kansas)
Defensive POTY: Cole Aldrich (Kansas) 12.0 RPG, 2.8 BPG
Freshman of the Year: Xavier Henry (Kansas) 15.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.3 APG

Wrapping It Up

While I enjoyed NCAA 10’s season sim, I could not help but be a bit disappointed with the lack of tournament upsets, or even regular season upsets for that matter. It seems like a Cinderella emerges during every year's tournament, yet no team stepped up to assume the role in this season sim.

I was particularly surprised to see Bill Self and Cole Aldrich win the Coach of the Year and Defensive POTY awards because College Hoops 2K8 predicted the same outcome -- as if Kansas fans did not have enough to be excited about this season.

Even though I was disappointed with the majority of higher seeds advancing through the tournament, NCAA 10’s season sim impressed me with its realistic statistical numbers, especially for the top teams and players in the country. College Hoops 2K8 may have featured a more unpredictable simulation, but NCAA 10 played it safe, which in my opinion, is how this year's NCAA season will play out.

Just remember to keep me in mind when you are filling out your brackets come March, I would be more than happy to split the winnings.


Coach McLeod's Completely Arbitrary Grade for NCAA 10’s Season Sim: B+