Blame Kentucky.
And NC State.
And South Carolina.
And BYU.
Four double-digit-seed upsets ruined brackets across the world Thursday, with just .00038 percent of brackets going 16-0 in the first full day of March Madness, according to the NCAA.
ESPN reported that only 1,825 brackets aced Thursday out of 22,112,822 entrants for their pools (.000083 percent), while Yahoo said it only has 116 brackets left unblemished.
Picking a perfect bracket is a near-impossible outcome — the NCAA reports it to be 1/120,200,000,000 if you are knowledgeable about college hoops — and Thursday showed why.
While No. 3 seed Kentucky emerged as a trendy national champion pick due to its high-powered offense, 14th-seeded Oakland from the Horizon League took down the blue blood, 80-76.
Kentucky earned the sixth-most championship selections, according to the NCAA, and almost 95 percent of entrants into its bracket challenge selected the Wildcats.
The No. 11 seeds also helped ruin brackets with a perfect 3-0 day.
The first major upset happened early in the East region, with No. 11 Duquesne upsetting No. 6 BYU.
The Dukes pulled away in the final minute-plus after BYU tied the game at 60-all with 1:48 left, and they will face No. 3 Illinois in the Round of 32.
No. 11 Oregon, the Pac-12 champion, then added to the chaos by downing No. 6 South Carolina, 87-73.
The Ducks grabbed a five-point halftime lead and ran away with the game in the second half to set up a second-round matchup against No. 3 Creighton.
The last major upset came late Thursday night, as unexpected ACC champion No. 11 NC State continued its magical run by defeating No. 6 Texas Tech, 80-67.
The Wolfpack have now won six straight games after entering the ACC Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will face Oakland in the second round.
That matchup guarantees there will at least be one double-digit seed in the Sweet 16.
Thursday also featured a minor seed upset with No. 9 Michigan State upsetting No. 8 Mississippi State in the first game, although the Spartans were favored.
Friday’s slate includes trendy upset picks in No. 13 Yale, which faces No. 4 Auburn in the East, No. 11 New Mexico, which battles No. 6 Clemson, and No. 12 James Madison facing No. 5 Wisconsin.
We’ll soon learn if anyone can start 32-0.
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Matt Ehalt
