And then there were 787.
Out of more than 20 million men’s March Madness brackets compiled by the NCAA across various platforms, less than 1,000 are still perfect following the first day of action.
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Here is how many are left by site, according to the NCAA:
- ESPN: 658
- NCAA Men's Bracket Challenge Game: 62
- CBS: 44
- Yahoo: 23
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Upsets from No. 15 Princeton and No. 13 Furman threw a wrench into millions of submissions on Thursday. Princeton took out No. 2 Arizona, considered one of the favorites to win the Big Dance, in an improbable comeback victory. Furman beat No. 4 Virginia in a game that epitomized March Madness, as JP Pegues capitalized on a Virginia turnover and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining.
No. 10 Penn State was the only other double-digit seed to win on Thursday, beating No. 7 Texas A&M. A No. 10 seed beating a No. 7 seed is hardly an upset, though, with the “underdog” winning around 40% of such matchups since 1985.
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Attempting to craft a perfect bracket is practically an impossible task. The odds of getting all 63 games from the first round to the championship game correct are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808.
Still, there is another record the 787 remaining brackets could chase. Greg Nigl of Columbus, Ohio, made history by correctly predicting the winner of the first 49 games during the 2019 tournament. He went 100% on first- and second-round games before his streak came to an end in the Sweet 16.
The 787 perfect brackets have a long way to go in that pursuit, beginning with 16 more first-round contests on Friday.
