The NCAA reported on Friday that roughly 14,000 perfect brackets out of more than 36 million submitted across major online sports platforms survived the first 16 games of the 2026 Division I men's basketball tournament.

Several upsets occurred on Thursday, March 19, 2026, contributing to the decline. These included No. 9 seed TCU defeating No. 8 seed Ohio State, No. 12 seed High Point beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, and Louisville prevailing over South Florida.

Nebraska earned its first-ever NCAA tournament victory against Troy at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.^[1] VCU staged a comeback to defeat North Carolina in overtime after the Tar Heels squandered a 19-point lead. Saint Louis beat Georgia, while Gonzaga defeated Kennesaw State to complete Thursday's slate.

The first round of the 68-team single-elimination tournament continued Friday with the remaining 16 games. The second round is scheduled for March 21-22, 2026.^[2]

The NCAA men's Bracket Challenge Game tracks entries from participants predicting all tournament outcomes. Similar challenges are hosted by platforms including ESPN, Yahoo and CBS Sports.^[2]

Sources

1. Encyclopedia: Wikipedia - Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball - Accessed October 2024 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Cornhuskers_men%27s_basketball#NCAA_Tournament_results
2. NCAA.com - Men's Bracket Challenge Game - Accessed October 2024 - https://www.ncaa.com/bracket-challenge/mens