How many perfect brackets remain in the NCAA Men’s tournament, according to ESPN?

Christopher Adams
·1 min read
22

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s March, and you know what that means — time for some madness!

This year, more than 22 million NCAA Men’s Tournament brackets were made on ESPN. But how many perfect brackets remain?

The first game was brutal for brackets: about 9.3 million were busted by Michigan State’s win over Mississippi State. Another 9.3 million were busted when BYU fell to Duquesne. Later, 1.1 million brackets were busted when Oregon beat South Carolina.

After eight games, the number of perfect brackets dropped below 1 million, thanks to Dayton’s win over Nevada. Kentucky’s loss to Oakland later wiped out all but about 20,000 brackets.

By the end of the tournament’s first day, just 1,825 brackets remained intact — accounting for 0.008% of all brackets.

With 63 games in total, how long does it usually take for all brackets to bust?

According to the NCAA, an Ohio man correctly predicted the outcomes of the first 49 games of the 2019 tournament, the current record. Gregg Nigl, of Columbus, picked the correct winner for every game through to the Sweet Sixteen.

Last year, perfect brackets only remained through the 25th game.

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