The odds of filling out a perfect NCAA March Madness bracket are about one in 9.2 quintillion. Fans have a far greater chance at winning the Powerball jackpot than correctly predicting the result of all 63 games in the NCAA tournament.
Many fans probably accepted that they wouldn't have a perfect bracket. But for the vast majority of college basketball fans, the dream of a perfect bracket didn't even make it a full day.
Just halfway through the round of 64, only about .00096% of brackets remain perfect. According to NCAA.com, out of over 20 million entries across four major online games (ESPN, Yahoo, CBS and Men's Bracket Challenge Game), only 192 perfect brackets remain.
Day one of March Madness started with a bang when No. 11 Michigan's victory over No. 6 Colorado State knocked out nearly half of all brackets.
Another devastating blow to brackets across the country was No. 12 Richmond's win over No. 5 Iowa. Before dinnertime, the vast majority of brackets were already in trouble.
No. 12 New Mexico State added to the country's woes when they beat No. 5 UConn, and the dagger came when No. 15 Saint Peter's beat No. 2 Kentucky in overtime.
NCAA.com says more brackets had Kentucky winning the national championship than had Saint Peter's winning in the first round.
If day one saw 20 million brackets busted, just imagine what day two has in store. The round of 64 continues Friday with 16 more games, beginning with No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola Chicago at 12:15 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published by Dan Trujillo on Scripps station WFTS in Tampa.
