Over the years, there have been attempts that have come close to perfection, but achieving a perfect bracket in the NCAA tournament remains almost impossible. This is due to the random and unpredictable nature of the games.
Achieving perfection means correctly predicting the outcome of each of the 63 games in March Madness, from the first round to the final, which makes the odds throughout the entire tournament astronomical.
Despite this, every March brings renewed hope among fans that someone will finally succeed in pulling it off and set a new record, surpassing the one achieved in 2019 by a narrow or significant margin.
What is a perfect bracket in the NCAA tournament?
A perfect bracket involves correctly predicting the outcome of each of the 63 games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, from the first round to the final. Given the single-elimination structure of the tournament, where a single mistake can ruin the entire prediction.
A detail of the South Region bracket after the Virginia Cavaliers defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 80-75 in overtime of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional. (Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The odds of maintaining a perfect bracket
The numbers are astounding: the odds of completing a perfect bracket are about 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Even considering factors like seeds and the historical performance of teams, the odds remain overwhelmingly low.
Remarkable attempts and historical records
Over the years, there have been attempts that have come close to perfection. In 2019, a participant correctly predicted the results of the first 49 games of the tournament, falling short in the Sweet 16 round.
The identity of the individual who set this record is not fully known to the public, as the bracket prediction system is mostly anonymous. However, that same year, Yahoo Sports reported that thousands of people participated in their competition.
This remains the longest known to date, according to the NCAA. It surpassed the previous one, set in 2017 with 39 correct picks. Each of these attempts highlights the difficulty of maintaining perfection in a tournament.
What makes the 2019 record so exceptional is that it occurred in an extremely unpredictable tournament, with surprises like the early elimination of highly ranked teams and unexpected results, all of which contribute to the difficulty of correctly predicting every game.
The quest for a perfect bracket in March Madness is a testament to the passion and dedication of college basketball fans. Though the odds are against it, every March brings renewed hope that someone will finally achieve what many consider an impossible mission.
