How many perfect brackets remain in the men's NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN?
Mar 22, 2025
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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 men's NCAA Tournament brackets were made on ESPN. But how many perfect brackets remain?
Looking for our Women's Tournament bracket tracker? Click here!
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.
New Mexico's win over Marquette later dropped the total below 1,000. At the end of the first round of the tournament, 121 brackets were still intact, 0.0005% 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 16.
Last year, perfect brackets remained through the 31st game. ...read more read less