Less Than 1% of March Madness Brackets Stay Perfect After Day One Thrills

As the NCAA Tournament unfolds, the challenges of predicting outcomes have become glaringly apparent. After the first day, fewer than 1% of brackets remained flawless among millions submitted across various platforms.

According to ESPN’s tracker, only 25,802 perfect brackets were still intact out of over 24 million entries by the end of Thursday’s thrilling 16 games. The NCAA reported that a mere 0.0938% of more than 34 million brackets were without errors.

Similar trends emerged from CBS Sports, which reported that just 0.09% of its brackets maintained their perfect status following the day’s matches. Yahoo Sports noted that virtually all its brackets—99.9%—were marred after a surprising upset where 11th-seeded Drake defeated the 6th seed Missouri.

The day witnessed mass disruptions to brackets, particularly after the No. 12 seed McNeese’s narrow victory over No. 5 seed Clemson, breaking 6.6 million ESPN brackets in the process. Creighton emerged as the day’s standout upset specialist with a decisive 89-75 triumph over Louisville, leading to 13,339,089 busted brackets on ESPN.

As March Madness continues, fans remain hopeful yet increasingly aware of the unpredictability characterizing this tournament.