NCAA March Madness: Over 99% Of Brackets Busted By The End Of Day One
The odds of submitting a perfect bracket are one in 9.2 quintillion if you flip a coin or guess on every pick.
Topline Nearly all of the 36 million brackets were busted after the first 16 games of this year’s NCAA March Madness men’s tournament, with remaining entrants hoping to overcome the absurd odds of submitting a perfect bracket for all 63 matchups. The Texas Longhorns scored one of the big upsets of day one by beating the BYU Cougars during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. NCAA Photos via Getty Images Key Facts An estimated 14,000 perfect brackets are left standing after the final game of day one: No.
3 seed Gonzaga defeating No. 14 seed Kennesaw State, 73-64. Over 36 million brackets were submitted in major online games through ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, USA Today and Sports Illustrated, according to the NCAA .
More than half of the brackets were eliminated after the first game, when No. 9-seeded TCU edged No. 8-seeded Ohio State in a 66-64 victory.
The number of perfect brackets was then slashed to about 2. 4 million mid-afternoon Thursday after No. 12 seed High Point beat No.