Over 22 million March Madness bracket submissions were busted on ESPN’s platform alone on Thursday—less than a day into the men’s NCAA Tournament—according to the sports network. With less than 0.001% of brackets remaining perfect on ESPN and the NCAA’s bracket challenges, the likelihood of any remaining untouched is slim to none.
Here are the key points:
Only about 0.0003% of brackets made through the NCAA’s Capital One March Madness Bracket Challenge are still perfect after just one day, which includes an upset by 11-seeded Duquesne over 6-seeded Brigham Young University.
Less than 2,000 out of over 22 million brackets submitted on ESPN remained unbroken as of Thursday night. Meanwhile, only 116 brackets in Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ challenge were still perfect.
The Duquesne Dukes won their game against Brigham Young University with a score of 71-67 in a closely contested matchup on Thursday. Interestingly, less than a quarter of contestants in Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ competition predicted this outcome, with fewer than 5% of those brackets advancing the Dukes to the Sweet 16.
In other games, nine-seeded Michigan State pulled off a slight upset in the West region with a 69-51 victory over 8-seeded Mississippi State, while in the Midwest, 11-seeded Oregon defeated 6-seeded South Carolina 87-73.
Later in the evening, Oakland caused one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far by defeating three-seeded Kentucky as a 14-seed in the South region. This unexpected victory was propelled by a remarkable performance from Oakland senior Jack Gohlke, who made nearly a record-setting 10 three-pointers. Just over 5% of brackets in the NCAA challenge had predicted Oakland’s win.
Noteworthy Prize: A hefty sum of $1 million awaits the brilliant mind who crafts an impeccable bracket in the USA Today Sports’ bracket challenge. Even if every game isn’t predicted spot-on, there’s still a shot at pocketing $25,000 for the participant with the top-performing bracket. Meanwhile, over at CBS Sports, the champion of the bracket challenge will secure tickets to the 2025 NCAA Final Four, alongside $6,000 for accommodations. Additionally, ESPN adds to the allure with 10 prizes of $5,000 each.
Curious Fact: Despite the enticing incentives, the elusive perfect March Madness bracket has yet to be achieved, and this year seems unlikely to be the exception. The odds of accurately predicting all 67 tournament games are astronomically low, standing at a mere one in 9.2 quintillion if selected randomly. However, those with an in-depth understanding of college basketball face marginally improved odds, at one in 102.2 billion, according to the NCAA’s calculations.