NO MORE PERFECT BRACKETS! 🤯
The Big Dance rolls on. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2J74rWrybG
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2021
Pandemic concerns canceled the 2020 edition of March Madness, but this year’s tournament returned with a vengeance. A whopping 15 million people filled out their six-round bracket on ESPN.com in hopes of winning a nice lump sum of money. Unfortunately, 95% went broke after the first round. Why? The Ohio State versus Oral Roberts game.
Many thought Ohio State would destroy Oral Roberts, but the favorites were defeated in overtime 75-72. This busted over 90% of the brackets in just one game. Of course, ESPN.com is inviting its users to take part in a second-chance bracket to soften the blow.
Another upset that probably broke a few brackets was the Morehead State versus West Virginia matchup, which resulted in the former beating one of the best teams in the league. Only 5% of the original brackets still stood after the first round of the annual dance. After the second round, there were no perfect brackets remaining.
Breaking down the bracket busting by game. via NCAA.com
- After Friday: 121 perfect brackets
- After Colorado-Georgetown: 72
- After Florida State-UNCG: 56
- After Kansas-Eastern Washington: 50
- After LSU-St. Bonaventure: 23
- After Michigan-Texas Southern: 22
- After Creighton-UCSB: 18
- After Alabama-Iona: 18 (no change)
- After USC-Drake: 12
- After Oregon-VCU no contest: 8
- After Iowa-Grand Canyon: 8 (no change)
- After Ohio-Virginia: 3
- After Maryland-UConn: 0