March Madness

Are any perfect March Madness brackets left entering the men's second round?

Friday's action began with around 2,100 perfect men's brackets left among 31 million-plus submissions.

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Utah State picked up its first March Madness win since 2001 on Friday night.

And, in the process, the Aggies busted the final perfect bracket.

As the 2024 men's NCAA Tournament enters the second round on Saturday, there are no more perfect brackets remaining among major online platforms (NCAA, ESPN, CBS and Yahoo), according to the NCAA. No. 8 Utah State's victory over No. 9 TCU in one of the final first-round contests eliminated the last standing perfect bracket.

Day 2 of the first round began with around 2,100 perfect brackets left among the 31 million-plus submissions. That was after an opening day of action that saw three No. 11 seeds (Duquesne, NC State and Oregon) along with a No. 14 seed (Oakland) advance.

The perfect brackets continued to fall quickly on Friday as well. Victories by No. 9 Northwestern, No. 5 San Diego State and No. 2 Marquette brought the number of brackets down to around 700, with Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson among the eliminated submissions.

The number was down to 383 after wins by No. 6 Clemson and No. 1 UConn, and it fell to 23 following thrilling victories by No. 13 Yale and No. 10 Colorado.

The No. 13 Yale Bulldogs upset the No. 4 Auburn Tigers 78-76, winning their second NCAA tournament game in school history.

There were just seven perfect brackets left after No. 4 Duke, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 4 Alabama advanced. Then, No. 12 James Madison's upset of No. 5 Wisconsin knocked six of the seven out.

The last remaining perfect bracket — named "Medalstick 84's Picks 7" on ESPN's tournament challenge — had No. 9 TCU and No. 5 Saint Mary's advancing in the final two games of Round 1, according to the NCAA. But TCU fell to No. 8 Utah State before No. 12 Grand Canyon stunned No. 5 Saint Mary's.

Has there ever been a perfect March Madness bracket?

There has never been a verified perfect bracket, according to the NCAA. The organization has been tracking online submissions across platforms since 2016 and used archival data before that.

The longest a bracket has ever stood was 49 games in 2019, when a Columbus, Ohio, man became the first person to have a perfect bracket beyond the second round.

The longest-standing bracket lasted 30 games this year, topping last year's mark of 24 games. This year was the longest a bracket has stood since the aforementioned 2019 tournament.

What March Madness games are on today?

Here's a look at Saturday's slate of games as the second round begins, with teams vying for trips to the Sweet 16:

  • No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 7 Dayton, 12:45 p.m. ET, CBS
  • No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 5 Gonzaga, 3:15 p.m. ET, CBS
  • No. 1 UNC vs. No. 9 Michigan State, 5:45 p.m. ET, CBS
  • No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Washington State, 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT
  • No. 11 NC State vs. No. 14 Oakland, 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS
  • No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Texas, 8 p.m. ET, CBS
  • No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 Duquesne, 8:40 p.m. ET, TNT
  • No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 11 Oregon, 9:40 p.m. ET, TBS
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