Most Brackets Were Blown With BYU’s Defeat

This year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament has seen a storm of upsets, and regrettably for BYU supporters, the Cougars were one of them.

 

But the loss on Thursday didn’t just depress BYU supporters. Around nine million people’s hopes of having a perfect bracket this year were dashed by the Cougars’ matchup with the Duquesne Dukes, according to ESPN’s Perfect Bracket Tracker page.

That’s what the Perfect Bracket Tracker page on ESPN states under the subtitle for the Perfect Bracket Killers section.

 

Because the NCAA Tournament has had some incredible upsets as of Friday at 7 p.m. MDT:

 

No. 14 Oakland defeated No. 3 Kentucky.

No. 13 Yale defeated No. 4 Auburn.

Three of the four No. 6 seeds—including BYU—are eliminated.

No. 10 Colorado defeated No. 7 Florida.

Additionally, Utah State is the final team standing after three of the four No. 8 teams lost. that Friday night’s late Aggies game.)

One of the best aspects of March Madness is upsets. Any squad can triumph at any moment. No. 1 seeds are no longer safe.

 

However, upsets hurt brackets. The majority never survive the first day spotless.

 

Almost any game in the NCAA Tournament has the potential to blow your bracket. However, not every upset in bracket breaking is made equal. Certain ones, particularly the early ones, have a greater impact than others.

 

And who in this tournament suffered the worst upset loss that eliminated a perfect bracket? The Cougars from BYU.

Entering the NCAA tournament as the sixth seed, BYU faced the eleventh-seeded team from Pennsylvania, Duquesne.

Following a brutal, physical 40 minutes of basketball in which BYU was unable to find their rhythm, the Dukes defeated the Cougars 71-67 and forced them to return to Provo.

 

That ripped across bracket country like a tsunami of devastation. With a high seed and an early game, many were betting on BYU to prevail.

 

Number one on ESPN’s list of perfect bracket killers is BYU’s defeat. 9,352,804 brackets were busted.

That is more than 8 million more than the third-biggest killer, No. 6 South Carolina’s defeat to No. 11 Oregon (1,131,625), and slightly more than 50,000 more than the second-biggest bracket killer, No. 9 Michigan State’s upset of No. 8 Mississippi State (9,298,156).