#1 Seed Washington State gets knocked out of March Madness

[TuscanSota]

 

March Madness is in full swing, and with it comes a flurry of upsets that no one saw coming. This year's tournament has been no exception, with the biggest upset so far coming in the form of #16 seed Fresno State defeating #1 seed Washington State with a score of 79-60.

Going into the game, Washington State was heavily favored to win. They had finished the regular season with a 25-7 record and were riding high after winning their conference championship. Meanwhile, Fresno State had barely squeaked into the tournament as a #16 seed and had a mediocre record of 17-16, 8th in their conference but being undefeated since their MWC tournament run.

Despite the odds being stacked against them, Fresno State came out firing on all cylinders. They dominated Washington State in the first half, outscoring them 38-25. Washington State was able to close the gap slightly in the second half, but it was too little too late. The Bulldogs continued to play with intensity and maintained their lead throughout the game.

One of the key factors in Fresno State's victory was their balanced scoring attack. Four different players scored in double digits, with Enrique Diaz and Jason Witucki leading the way with 16 points each. Washington State, on the other hand, struggled to get any consistent scoring from their players. Randy Russell had a solid game with 16 points, but the rest of the team struggled to get anything going. Jr. Center Ian Elmore was the only other player on the Coug's squad to get above 10 points, scoring 12 and having 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Shirly Minnick had 60% Field Goal percentage but was not getting any opportunities. Sophomore Center Wallace Crawford took many shots, only going 1 of 7 in field goal range, with three of those attempts in the 3pt range.

Another factor in Fresno State's victory was their strong defense. They held Washington State to just 60 points, which was well below their season average of 67.5 points per game. Washington State's many failed shooting attempts within range led to several fast-break opportunities for Fresno State, in spite of the fact that Fresno State turned the ball over 16 times. Fresno State even out-rebounded the Cougs, with the team totaling to 26 total rebounds to Washington State's 15.

This upset will go down in March Madness history as one of the most surprising in SimFBA history. Washington State has shown to be tenacious with its defence and suffocating with its slow-tempo offense, but they were outmatched by a Bulldogs team that took advantage of their missed attempts and knocked them out of the tournament before it even went to halftime. Fresno State proves that anything can happen in SimFBA's March Madness, and that even the unlikeliest of teams can pull off a stunning upset.

As for Washington State, this loss is surely a tough pill to swallow. For a season that's already a miracle after their previous season where they didn't even make the NIT tournament. A fantastic regular season run with wins against St. John's, Jacksonville, Baylor, Washington, all leading to the Cougs winning both the Pac 12 Regular Season Championship and Conference Tournament championship. They were flying as high as Icarus, but were brought back down to Earth in quick fashion. Despite the season being over, they can take solace in the fact that they improved massively over last season, and that there's a bright future ahead for both the program and the players. They will undoubtedly be back in the tournament next year, with the #9 Overall Recruiting class, and ready to make another run at the title.

[Rocketcan]

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