Favorites keep winning, but number of perfect March Madness brackets keeps getting smaller
The pursuit of the perfect NCAA Tournament bracket continues, but for far fewer people than when Saturday's second-round games tipped off. By Saturday evening, after wins by top seeds Duke and Michigan and third-seeded Michigan State, the number of unblemished entries had dropped to 105 in ESPN's bracket challenge and 133 in the NCAA's contest. There were more than 25 million entries in each.
Favorites went 16-0 on Friday, and they started 3-0 on Saturday. Duke, picked to win the national championship by 23% of ESPN contestants, dominated No. 9 seed TCU in the second half and won 81-58.
Michigan, the third-most popular choice to win the title, dispatched No. 9 seed Saint Louis 95-72. Michigan State beat sixth-seeded Louisville 77-69.
There was also a sharp drop-off in perfect brackets in the women's tournament Saturday. The day started with 675,000 in the ESPN contest. After 10 games, there were 2,800 left.
Two lower seeds won, with No. 10 seed Virginia knocking out No. 7 seed Georgia 82-73 and No.