Cinderella Madness: '06 Wichita St vs '07 UNLV

WhatIfSports.com and CollegeHoops.net have partnered up to bring you Cinderella Madness 2012. This college basketball simulation tournament features 16 of the most memorable Cinderella stories from the past eight seasons. We invited teams outside the BCS conferences, seeded 7th or lower that advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond in their bracket to participate. Teams were seeded 1 through 16 and then simulated using WhatIfSports.com's award-winning college basketball simulation engine. Each match was "played" 501 times.

2006-07 UNLV vs 2005-06 Wichita St

2006-07 UNLV: The three-guard lineup that Lon Kruger was able to rely on was a special trio, made up of his son Kevin, Wink Adams and Wendell White on the wing. All three averaged between 13.5 and 14.4 points per game, and White was also the team's leading rebounder. Gaston Essengue and Joel Anthony were called on for defense and rebounding and reserves such as Curtis Terry and Joe Darger not only understood but carried out their assigned roles. After beating BYU to win the Mountain West's automatic bid, the Runnin' Rebels beat Georgia Tech and Wisconsin before falling to Oregon in the Sweet 16.

2005-06 Wichita State: Mark Turgeon's Shockers went 14-4 in league play to win the Missouri Valley regular season crown, an accomplishment that made them a lock to be one of the four teams from the league to earn NCAA bids. But while the traditionalists and pundits complained, the Shockers went to work, whipping Seton Hall thanks to a three-point barrage and then knocking off Tennessee to reach the Sweet 16. Paul Miller and Sean Ogirri (whose afro gained a lot of attention) led four starters in double figures for Wichita State, with Miller, P.J. Couisnard and Kyle Wilson being the best rebounders as well. Wichita State fell to George Mason in the Sweet 16.

Game Recap: UNLV 71 - Wichita St 63 (Boxscore)

The Missouri Valley Conference has produced its share of fairy tales on the hardwood, but there will be no glass slipper for the Shockers in Cinderella Madness. The vaunted trinity of Adams, Kruger and White blasted the scoreboard for 47 points, and the Runnin' Rebels kept the Wichita State bench at bay in UNLV's first-round 69-62 victory.

Down four at half, the Shockers kept it close in the onset of the second half, trailing by just two with 15 minutes to go. Alas, the Rebels went on a 13-4 run (with six points coming from guard Michael Umeh) that proved too arduous of a task to overcome for Turgeron's squad.

White's versatility as swingman correlated into a game-high 22 points, and his prowess on the glass led to a team-best nine boards. While UNLV let Miller, Ogirri and Karon Bradley stuff the stat sheet (the three combined for 43 points), no other Shocker was able to score more than six, and Wichita State shot less than 24 percent from beyond the arc. Current NBAer Anthony delivered an admirable defensive display in reserve, redirecting the flights of four errant shot attempts.

Player of the game: Wendell White (22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals)

Winning Percentage of 501 Simulations: '07 UNLV 78.8% - '06 Wichita State 21.2%

More Cinderalla Madness with the complete bracket.