14,000 perfect brackets remain after upsets on Day 1 of 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament
The first day of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament saw significant attrition among perfect brackets following several upsets in the opening 16 games on March 21.[1]
A tracker by CBS Sports monitoring more than 62 million brackets submitted across major platforms including CBS, ESPN and Yahoo showed 14,003 perfect brackets intact after Thursday's games.[1]
Key upsets included No. 12 seed James Madison's 72-61 victory over No. 5 Wisconsin at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. James Madison, making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013, advanced with the win.[2][3] This result halved the number of perfect brackets tracked by CBS Sports from 39,242 before the game.[1]
Another notable result was No. 11 Duquesne's 71-67 defeat of No. 6 BYU at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Duquesne, winners of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament, reached the second round for the first time since 1977.[4][5]
| Upset | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| James Madison (12) def. Wisconsin (5) | 72-61 | Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH |
| Duquesne (11) def. BYU (6) | 71-67 | CHI Health Center Omaha |
The 2024 tournament features 68 teams in a single-elimination bracket culminating in the Final Four on April 6 in Glendale, Arizona. The first round continues Friday with the remaining 16 games.[6]
Historically, the 2023 tournament left 36,469 perfect brackets after Day 1, while 2021 saw only 121 survive the opening 16 games amid widespread upsets.[1][7]
Second-round games begin March 23.[6]
Sources
- CBS Sports
March Madness Bracket Challenge Tracker: Perfect brackets after Day 1
March 22, 2024
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2024-march-madness-bracket-tracker-live-updates-on-how-many-perfect-brackets-remain-after-every-game/ - NCAA.com
James Madison vs. Wisconsin boxscore
March 21, 2024
https://www.ncaa.com/game/6182903 - ESPN
James Madison 72-61 Wisconsin boxscore
March 21, 2024
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401581425 - NCAA.com
Duquesne vs. BYU boxscore
March 21, 2024
https://www.ncaa.com/game/6182907 - ESPN
Duquesne 71-67 BYU boxscore
March 21, 2024
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401581430 - NCAA.com
2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament official page
Accessed October 2024
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/d1/article/2024-03-17/2024-ncaa-di-mens-basketball-bracket-march-madness - CBS Sports
Historical bracket challenge trackers (2023, 2021)
March 2023 / March 2021
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/march-madness-bracket-challenge/
