As the first round of the men’s NCAA tournament closes, it’s been one electrifying rollercoaster of excitement for some teams, while other programs have been left with the agony of defeat.
For the fans, particularly those who made their own brackets, it’s no different. The thrill of the underdog story first hit with No. 13 Furman’s defeat of No. 3 Virginia, before No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson shocked the world by beating No. 1 Purdue.
After the Knights’ stunning upset, there are no more perfect brackets remaining for this year’s men’s tournament, according to NCAA.com.
Prior to the shock result in the East region, there were only 26 unblemished brackets remaining in this year’s Big Dance after more than 20 million were submitted across the NCAA’s Bracket Challenge Game, ESPN, CBS and Yahoo.
Friday’s slate of 16 games started with just 786 perfect brackets remaining. Even more, only 2.36% of complete Men’s Backet Challenge brackets selected FDU to knock off Purdue. Before the Knights’ etched their names in history, No. 11 seed Pitt had provided the only other major upset of the day when it knocked off No. 6 Iowa State.
If the first two days of the first-round action are any indication of what is to come in the round of 32, get your popcorn ready and prepare for more madness for the remainder of the month.
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