Last Updated 5:16 PM, April 03, 2024
NCAA.com
The absurd odds of a perfect March Madness bracket
5:11
- How the final women's bracket bust
1:25 am, March 30, 2024
Final perfect women's bracket busts on 51st game
An impressive run at perfection into the Sweet 16 came to a close, as the last perfect bracket picked its first game wrong when No. 3 NC State beat No. 2 Stanford, 77-67, on Friday night. This year's tracking on the women's side involved more than four million brackets.
The bracket entry "Courtney’s COURT 2"in ESPN's online game got the first 50 games correct, a run better than last year, when No. 8 Ole Miss' upset of No. 1 Stanford in the second round ended the run at perfection.
The 50 correct picks in the women's tournament this year bettered the run on the men's side, as No. 8 Utah State's 88-72 win against No. 9 TCU busted all men's brackets on the 31st game — close to the end of the first round. Entries in the major online men's games stretched to more than 31 million.
11:12 pm, March 29, 2024
Last perfect bracket reaches 50 games with South Carolina win
Indiana made it close late, but undefeated No. 1 South Carolina topped the No. 4 Hoosiers 79-75 in Friday's Sweet 16 game.
The Gamecocks' win pushed the last perfect bracket — ESPN's "Courtney’s COURT 2" — to 50 picks in a row to begin the tournament.
Let's take a look at the bracket's predictions for the entire Sweet 16, with the predicted winner in bold:
- No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Oregon State— CORRECT✅
- No. 1 South Carolinavs. No. 4 Indiana — CORRECT✅
- No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 NC State
- No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Gonzaga
- No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU
- No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 5 Colorado
- No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Baylor
- No. 3 UConn vs. No. 7 Duke
8:36 pm, March 29, 2024
Only one perfect women's bracket left after Oregon State's win
No. 3 Oregon State's 70-65 win against No. 2 Notre Dame in the first game of the Sweet 16 took out three of the last four perfect brackets among the major online games.
That leaves "Courtney’s COURT 2" in ESPN's Women's Tournament Challenge as the only perfect bracket — and we started by tracking more than 4 million brackets at the start of the tournament.
Here are Courtney’s COURT 2's picks for the remaining Sweet 16 games:
- South Carolinavs.Indiana
- Stanford vs.NC State
- Texas vs.Gonzaga
- LSUvs.UCLA
- Iowa vs.Colorado
- USC vs.Baylor
- UConn vs.Duke
4:18 am, March 26, 2024
4 perfect women's brackets remain after second round
Two rounds down. Four perfect women's brackets remain.
That's right, 48 games into the tournament— which started with more than four million entries across major online games— just four brackets are standing after No. 4 Gonzaga's 77-66 win over No. 5 Utah. Last year, the final perfect bracket was busted in the 40th game.Here's where we stand heading into the Sweet 16:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 3
- CBS: 0
- Yahoo: 1
- USA Today: 0
We started the second round with more than 1,300 perfect brackets and — 18 advanced to Monday's action. Each game today, except for No. 2 UCLA's win over No. 7 Creighton, knocked out additional entries:
- No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 7 Ole Miss— 15 perfect
- No. 3 NC State def. No. 6 Tennessee— 12 perfect
- No. 3 UConn def. No. 6 Syracuse— 11 perfect
- No. 4 Indiana def. No. 5 Oklahoma— 9 perfect
- No. 1 Iowa def. No. 8 West Virginia— 8 perfect
- No. 1 USC def. No. 8 Kansas— 6 perfect
- No. 4 Gonzaga def. No. 5 Utah— 4 perfect
Here's a look at the last perfect brackets, along with their Sweet 16 and Final Four Picks (highlighted).
- "Courtney's COURT 2" on ESPN— South Carolina, Oregon State, Texas,Stanford, Iowa, LSU, USC andUConn
- "TarHeelsOnGod!!!'s Picks 4" on ESPN— South Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas, Stanford, Iowa, LSU, UConn and USC
- "ikmh55's Picks 23" on ESPN— South Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas, Stanford,Iowa, UCLA,USC and UConn
- "trisdyn's Rad Bracket" on Yahoo— South Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas, NC State, Iowa, UCLA,USC and UConn
4:05 am, March 26, 2024
USC wins leaves just 6 perfect brackets
There are just six perfect women's brackets with one first round game remaining.
No. 1 USC pulled away to beat No. 8 Kansas, 73-55. Two of the eight remaining perfect brackets among major online games had the Jayhawks winning. With just one game to go in the second round, here's where the perfect brackets stand:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 5
- CBS: 0
- Yahoo: 1
- USA Today: 0
In the final first round game, four of the entries picked No. 4 Gonzaga while two have No. 5 Utah. There's no doubt perfect brackets will move into Friday's Sweet 16 action. The only question is, how many?
2:16 am, March 26, 2024
8 perfect women's brackets remain with Iowa win
Another final, another perfect bracket falls.
We're now down to eight perfect brackets remaining in major online games. No. 1 Iowa held off to beat No. 8 West Virginia 64-54 to advance to the Sweet 16, knocking off yet another one of the remaining entries. Through 45 games, here's where the perfect brackets stand:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 7
- CBS: 0
- Yahoo: 1
- USA Today: 0
More perfect brackets will fall tonight. Of the eight remaining brackets, all of them have No. 2 UCLA winning over No. 7 Creighton. Between No. 1 USC and No. 8 Kansas, six have the Trojans advancing while two have the Jayhawks. In the final game, there's an even 4-4 split between No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 5 Utah.
12:26 am, March 26, 2024
Indiana win leaves just 9 perfect women's brackets
We're officially in single digits.
No. 4 Indiana defeated No. 5 Oklahoma 75-68, eliminating two more perfect women's brackets in major online games to bring the total down to nine. Here's where the remaining entries stand:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 8
- CBS: 0
- Yahoo: 1
- USA Today: 0
We began the day with 18 brackets and each game has dragged the number down even further. Here's who the perfect brackets have winning in the final four games of the second round:
- Iowa— 8; West Virginia— 1
- UCLA— 9; Creighton— 0
- USC— 7; Kansas— 2
- Utah— 5; Gonzaga— 4
12:08 am, March 26, 2024
We're down to 11 perfect women's brackets after UConn win
Another one bites the dust.
No. 3 UConn's 72-64 victory over No. 6 Syracuse leaves just 11 perfect women's brackets remaining in major online games. Only one of the remaining dozen entries had the Orange beating the Huskies. Here's where we stand 43 games into the tournament:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 9
- CBS: 1
- Yahoo: 1
- USA Today: 0
10:12 pm, March 25, 2024
NC State escapes Tennessee to eliminate three more perfect brackets
No. 6 Tennessee's spirited second-half rally came up short against No. 3 NC State, sharing their heartbreak with three more perfect brackets that fell Monday afternoon.
The Wolfpack's victory ensures that there are only 12 more perfect brackets left across the major bracket games. Here's a breakdown of the perfect bracket landscape entering a loaded evening window:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 9
- CBS: 1
- Yahoo: 2
- USA Today: 0
15 brackets remain perfect after Notre Dame victory
No. 2 Notre Dame surged past No. 7 Ole Miss with a strong first half and claimed a 71-56 victory, an outcome that eliminated three more perfect brackets.
All three of the Ole Miss predictions came from the ESPN Tournament Challenge, which still enjoys the most perfect brackets at 11. Here's a breakdown of the perfect brackets from each of the remaining major online games:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 11
- CBS: 2
- Yahoo: 2
- USA Today: 0
A Tennessee victory tonight could bring the number of perfect brackets down to just three — stay tuned!
4:20 am, March 25, 2024
Stanford's OT win leaves 18 perfect women's brackets after day 3
Last year, the last perfect women's bracket fell when Stanford — then a No. 1-seed — suffered a shocking second round defeat.
The Cardinal did not let history repeat itself, defeating No. 7 Iowa State 87-81 in a thrilling overtime affair that lasted late into Sunday night (or early Monday morning for those on Eastern Standard Time), keeping their postseason hopes and the final 18 remaining perfect women's brackets alive. The last perfect entries in major online games are on ESPN (14), CBS (2) and Yahoo (2).
We began the tournament with more than four million entries. Here's how we went from more than 1,300 perfect brackets to 18 Sunday:
- No. 7 Duke def. No. 2 Ohio State—202 perfect
- No. 5 Colorado def. No. 4 Kansas State — 99 perfect
- No. 3 LSU def. No. 11 Middle Tennessee — 81 perfect
- No. 3 Oregon State def. No. 6 Nebraska— 40
- No. 1 Texas def. No. 8 Alabama— 38
- No. 5 Baylor def. No. 4 Virginia Tech— 18
Last year, the final perfect bracket was busted in the 40th game of the tournament— 40 games in, the quest for perfection will continue Monday.
2:06 am, March 25, 2024
Just 18 women's brackets remain perfect with Baylor's win
No. 5 Baylor defeated No. 4 Virginia Tech 75-72 to bring the total number of perfect women's brackets to 18.
The game was evenly split among the entries remaining in major online games with 18 picking the Bears and 22 selecting the Hokies.We began the day with more than 1,300 perfect brackets, here's where we stand now:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 0
- ESPN: 14
- CBS: 2
- Yahoo: 2
- USA Today: 0
All of the remaining entries have No. 2 Stanford over No. 7 Iowa State in the final game tonight. Will they move onto the fourth day of the tournament or will the quest for perfection end tonight?
12:09 am, March 25, 2024
38 perfect women's brackets remain with Texas win
No. 1 Texas' 65-54 win over No. 8 Alabama eliminated two more perfect brackets.
The total number of perfect brackets across major online games dropped from 40 to 38 with the Longhorns' win. Here's where we stand:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 1
- ESPN: 29
- CBS: 6
- Yahoo: 2
- USA Today: 0
9:43 pm, March 24, 2024
With Oregon State win, 40 perfect women's brackets remain
No. 3 Oregon State's 61-51 win over No. 6 Nebraska leaves just 40 perfect women's brackets remaining.
We started the day with more than 1,300 perfect entries — the tournament began with more than four million entries — across major online games. The Beavers' win eliminated 41 of the remaining 81 entries. Here's where we stand 37 games into the tournament:
- Women's Bracket Challenge Game: 1
- ESPN: 30
- CBS: 7
- Yahoo: 2
- USA Today: 0
Last year, the final perfect brackets were busted 40 games into the tournament.
9:03 pm, March 24, 2024
Just 81 perfect women's brackets intact after LSU win
No. 3 LSU pulled away in the second half to beat No. 11 Middle Tennessee 83-56, dropping the number of perfect women's brackets in major online games to 81.
Just one perfect entry remains in the Women's Bracket Challenge Game. Here's where we stand:
- WBCG: 1
- ESPN: 63
- CBS: 14
- Yahoo: 3
- USA Today: 0*
*Last perfect bracket busted with No. 5 Colorado's win.