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There was three upsets in day one of the 2026 March Madness tournament. 36 million-plus brackets were submitted across major online games according to the NCAA. (Photo by Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) (Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
More than 36 million people submitted brackets for the men's March Madness tournament. After Day 1, the chances of completing a perfect bracket have dwindled significantly.
According to the NCAA tournament tracker, the largest drop (by sheer volume) came in the opening game, when No. 9 TCU edged No. 8 Ohio State 66–64, cutting the number of perfect brackets to 14.5 million. Another roughly 2.5 million were wiped out when No. 4 Nebraska defeated No. 13 Troy 76–47.
Thursday's first true upset — No. 12 High Point’s 83–82 win over No. 5 Wisconsin — dealt a major blow, shrinking the total to about 2.3 million. That number fell again to 1.2 million after No. 6 Louisville held off No. 11 USF, 83–79.
No. 1 Duke then avoided what would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history, fending off No. 16 Siena 71–65. Victories by No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 3 Michigan State ultimately left just over 700,000 perfect brackets remaining.
No. 11 VCU staged the biggest first-round comeback in NCAA tournament history, defeating No. 6 North Carolina 82–78 in overtime. After the Rams’ victory, just over 300,000 perfect brackets remained.
March Madness: How many perfect brackets are left?
According to the NCAA tournament tracker, there are more than 14,000 perfect March Madness brackets remaining.
This total is much lower than after the first day last year, but still higher than in other recent years. Here’s how many perfect brackets remained going into the second day in prior years:
- 2025: 36,000+
- 2024: 2,100+
- 2023: 787
- 2022: 192
- 2021: 121
- 2019: About 60,000
What are people saying about their bracket?
Did your bracket get busted on Day 1? Here’s what people are saying about the 2026 March Madness tournament.
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