Sixers Also Tanking Fake Matchups

Wall Street Journal runs simulated matchups against college teams.

The Wall Street Journal decided to figure out if the winless, hapless, joyless Sixers can beat a really good college team. The conclusion? Yes. Mostly.

On the surface, the premise of any collegiate team beating a professional team appears preposterous. But perhaps less so if that team were the Philadelphia 76ers, who enter Monday night’s game against the Spurs at 0-9 and the only winless team in the NBA. While the 76ers spend another season destined for the NBA draft’s lottery, Kentucky features five players projected to be selected in the first round of the 2015 draft, according to draftexpress.com.

Michigan State would beat the 76ers 10.1% of the time, according to WhatIfSports.com’s projections based on 1,001 simulations on a neutral court. “It looks like their superior defense led to a few extra wins,” said Jake Westrich, digital content coordinator of WhatIfSports.com. In the simulation, based off college rules, the Spartans held Philadelphia to 75.6 points per game. Kentucky won 8.4% of its simulated games against the 76ers, while Duke won 7.9% and Kansas 5.7%.

To be fair, Kentucky is probably way closer to the NBA salary cap than the Sixers are this season.

(Hat Tip: 700 Level)