Long before the end of the first round, all the brackets in the CBS Sports Bracket Challenge were full. After surviving just one innings in the Bracket Challenge the first day, the exception was no longer perfect after the fifth-seeded Colorado’s 96-73 victory over Georgetown No. 12 in the East Regional. With the NCAA Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2019 – after being canceled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States last year – March has definitely brought the usual madness to the fore.
The first major domino to fall was in the South Regional, where Oral Roberts, no. 15, upset the No. 2 in Ohio State by 75-72 in an absolute shock. How big a shock? Of the users on CBS Sports Bracket Challenge, 97% made the Buckeyes advance past the Golden Eagles in the first round, and with good reason – this is the ninth time the field has expanded to 64 teams since 1985. No. 15 seed knocked out a number 2 seed. To make matters worse for some of the OSU fans, 4% of all Bracket Challenge players let the Buckeyes win the whole thing.
After that, the number of perfect brackets was quite low and the number continued to shrink for the rest of the day with more dismay. Nr. 12-seed Oregon State beat number 5-seed Tennessee, no. 11-seed Syracuse handle no. 6-seed San Diego State in the Midwest region and number 13 seed North Texas, eliminates number 4 seed Purdue in the South Regional.
March Madness has truly returned, the dismay and surprises will definitely continue in this year’s NCAA Tournament.