March Madness lives on. Following the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, The Post projected the final bracket and will spend the rest of the week presenting round-by-round results produced via online simulation, thanks to our friends at .
Duke and Villanova. Mike 🍌Krzyzewski and Jay Wright. 𒆙The Big East and the ACC. Madison Square Garden.
Of course it would be a classic.
In a matchup of the two best programs fro♋m the two most legendary basketball conferences — as well as two of the three active Division I coaches with multiple national championships — No. 3 Duke triumphed over No. 2 Villanova in overtime, 91-89, in The Post’s Sweet 16 simulation.
The Blue Devils, who have made the Elite Eight 16 times under꧒ Krzyzewski, were in front until a wild final minute of regulation, which featured three lead changes and Saddiq Bey’s game-tying jumper with two seconꦫds left. Duke, led by Tre Jones’ 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, finally escaped when Jermaine Samuels missed a game-winning 3-point attempt as time expired.
To reach its first Final�ꦯ� Four since 2015, Duke has to take down a familiar foe.
Former ACC rival Maryland ended No. 16 Winthrop’s improbable journey, with the No. 4 Terrapins claiming a 70-67 victory, behind Jalen Smith’s 18 points and 12 rebounds. Maryland hasn’t reached♌ the Elite Eight in 18 years, while coach Mark Turgeon has never been past the Sweet 16.
At the start of the century, Duke and Maryland had the coun✅try’s most intense rivalry — the Blue Devils won the national championship in 2001, followed by the Terrapins’ first title in 2002 — but the teams haven’t met since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014. Krzyzewski vowed he wouldn’t schedule ano🦄ther game against the ACC founding member, following its “assault on tradition.”
Thoughꦿ the most dominant team of the era remains, no Nꦯo. 1 seed will be in the Final Four for the first time since 2006, following Baylor’s loss to Louisville.
An all-time Cinderella remai🌳ns in the mix, though.
East Tennessee State becomes the second-ever No. 12 seed — j🐷oining Missouri (2002) — to reach the Elite Eight, with its 83-72 win over No. 9 USC. Next, the Buccaneers will try to upset No. 2 Michigan State, which beat No. 11 Wichita State, 75-61.
In the West, No. 2 San Diego State advanced to its first-ever Elite Eight with an 87-85 overtime victory over No. 6 Houston, while No. 4 Oregon moved one win from its secꦇond Final Four in three years, following its 83-73 win over No. 9 Marquett♛e.