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AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s March, and you know what that means — time for some madness!
This year, more than 24 million NCAA Men’s Tournament brackets were made on ESPN. But how many perfect brackets remain?
The first game was brutal for brackets: about 13.3 million were busted by Creighton’s win over Louisville. Another 2.2 million were busted when High Point fell to Purdue. Later, 6.6 million brackets were busted when McNeese State beat Clemson.
After seven games, the number of perfect brackets dropped below 1 million, thanks to BYU’s win over VCU. Drake’s win over Missouri dropped the number below 100,000.
By the end of the tournament’s first day, just 25,802 brackets remained intact — accounting for 0.11% of all brackets.
With 63 games in total, how long does it usually take for all brackets to bust?
According to the NCAA, an Ohio man correctly predicted the outcomes of the first 49 games of the 2019 tournament, the current record. Gregg Nigl, of Columbus, picked the correct winner for every game through to the Sweet Sixteen.
Last year, perfect brackets remained through the 31st game.
