Well, the dream was fun while it lasted … all two-ish hours of it.
The bid for a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket disappeared for over 25 million people by mid-afternoon on Thursday, fueled by 12th-seeded High Point’s first-round stunner over fifth-seeded Wisconsin.
ESPN reported that just under 900,000 blemish-free brackets remained after the opening wave of games, meaning a staggering 97% saw their hopes of making an improbable run ended barely 2 1/2 hours after the tournament tipped off. That number quickly dropped to under 550,000 despite a chalky spate of games in the afternoon, including blowout wins by Michigan State and Arkansas.
By then, the vast majority of the damage was already done, though 16th-seeded Siena could have basically finished off whoever was left if it had been able to hold onto a double-digit lead against top-seeded Duke.
TCU, a 9 seed, nicked some brackets in the first game of the tournament by edging eighth-seeded Ohio State. Nebraska, a 4 seed, picked up its first-ever March Madness victory by racing past Troy.
The results also took a toll over at Yahoo, where 83% of the entries included a win by Wisconsin in the first round.
The odds of going 67 for 67 (or 63 for 63 if you don’t pick the First Four) in the bracket are longer than one of those 3-pointers hoisted up by High Point’s Chase Johnston. Way longer.
The NCAA estimates the chances of ending the tournament with a zero in the loss column range anywhere from one in 9.2 quintillion (if you flip a coin for every game). The odds drop a little if you make educated guesses — all the way to one in 120 billion.
The NCAA’s own bracket challenge looked a lot like ESPN’s, with about 2% of entries still having a shot at perfection.
But hey, maybe things are going better for you in the office pool. The NCAA estimates there are anywhere between 60 and 100 million brackets filled out each year, only a portion of which are done in online challenges.