Written By Mo Nuwwarah | Published at March 26, 2025
Chalk has dominated the NCAA tournament thus far. After one full weekend of games, only a single double-digit seed (Arkansas) has advanced to the Sweet 16 on the men's side. Things have played out in the women's bracket in an even more predictable fashion. So, are there any perfect brackets left?
Let's examine the national bracket landscape and determine whether a chalky run in March Madness odds has boosted anyone to perfection.
Upsets have not exactly abounded in March Madness. All four No. 1 seeds remain in the tournament, and just a single No. 2 seed (St. John's) has gone down. The Sweet 16 includes 12 of KenPom's top 16 teams, with one of the teams that lost (Gonzaga) losing to a fellow member of that group.
Despite all of that chalk, zero perfect brackets remain.
The NCAA's official tracker, which encompasses their contest and those of ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, USA Today, and X says that the final perfect bracket received a blemish when Kentucky toppled Illinois. That ESPN entry had the final perfect score among 34 million brackets.
Chase For Perfection Still Alive In Women's March Madness
Fans tired of the higher seeds dominating in men's March Madness had best avert their eyes before looking at the women's bracket. That contest has been straight chalk the entire way, with a trio of No. 5s representing the lowest-seeded teams in the Sweet 16.
Higher seeds have advanced in 41 of a possible 48 cases thus far.
The NCAA is tracking 5 million brackets on the women's side. Thanks to the paucity of upsets, 33 of them remain perfect after the first two rounds.
Will any of them correctly predict the final 15 games? Stay tuned to find out, but things are about to get a lot tougher. The lack of an overwhelming favorite this year, such as 2024 South Carolina, makes predicting the champion much less likely. And the JuJu Watkins injury has thrown a significant wrench into things for anyone bullish on USC before the tournament.
watcH: sweet 16 betting preview
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