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If this were social media, Kansas would have won the national title

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Mike Miller

Kansas may have come up short in the real national title game against Kentucky, but if we were measuring in social media, the Jayhawks would have brought home the crown.

According to research group Schwartz MSL, Kansas’ fanbase, in proportion, was the most tuned-in of any school in the country.

The formula goes like this: Take the total number of Facebook “likes” and Twitter followers, then divide it by the number of students that attend the school.

Schwarts MSL even set up a bracket, which you can see here, that plays out the entire Field of 68, as if it were based on social media.

Some surprises? West Virginia is an Elite Eight team, as is Memphis and Connecticut. Among the disappointments would be Florida State, who would lost in the Round of 32.

The 2010-11 champion of this social media bracket, Ohio State, is eliminated this year by No. 15 Loyola (Md.).

The Final Four would be Duke, Kansas, Memphis, and West Virginia, with Kansas over Duke in the title game.

Imagine that had played out: Kevin Jones carrying the otherwise-young Mountaineers into the Final Four, fighting with passionate Kansas.

On the other side, Duke would have avoided that Round of 64 upset loss to Lehigh and come to meet Josh Pastner and the Memphis Tigers.

We social media guys get called nerds sometimes, and maybe simulations like this don’t help our cause, but it’s pretty fun to take a look at.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_