Do you believe in miracles?
Day 1 of the 2024 NCAA tournament came and went on Thursday, offering fans the perfect glimpse into the chaos and theater that makes the college game so enticing to the masses.
There were blowouts, upsets, blown calls and stunning individual performances. Simply put, it was another mystifying showcase that wreaked havoc on the bracketology industrial complex.
After one day of action, just 0.00038% of men's tournament brackets remain unblemished. Such is the case when No. 14-seed Oakland and No. 11-seeds NC State, Oregon and Duquesne vanquished their Goliath-like opposition.
The majority of those blessed with a faultless Day 1 bracket are lurking in the shadows, unwilling to alert the masses for fear of paparazzi.
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One man unafraid of the flashbulbs is Falcons star Bijan Robinson, though. By day, Robinson is a rugged tailback unwilling to compromise even as waves of bodies crash around him. Off the field, though? He may be something of a seance.
Robinson is one of precious few people whose bracket still retains its original vigor. It's a status he appears to take pride in, too; Robinson took to X, the website formerly known as Twitter, to express delight over his match-picking skills.
Perfect day 1 haha kinda dope 😄 https://t.co/xommtkr4bB
— Bijan Robinson (@Bijan5Robinson) March 22, 2024
So, just what does Robinson's bracket look like at present? Here's a deeper dive into the choices that led Robinson to Day 1 success.
Bijan Robinson bracket
Robinson's bracket may be written like a fanboy, at least in some regards. The former Texas standout does have his Longhorns — the tournament's No. 7-seed — hoisting the grand old trophy come the end of the season.
However, he proved to be a Nostradamus in more ways than one, tipping the Golden Grizzlies, Wolfpack, Ducks and Dukes for first day greatness. Don't believe us? Here's the proof.
.@Bijan5Robinson's bracket!
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2024
Longhorns win the title 🤘
Western Kentucky > Marquette 🤯
2️⃣ double-digit seeds in the Elite 8 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/kFm4ZqLNNQ
Robinson made a handful of other controversial predictions, suggesting two double-digit seeds — NC State and Grand Canyon — will make the Elite Eight. And that's before even mentioning his national championship pick.
Nevertheless, you have to take risks to be successful in the world of bracketology. And Robinson seems to peep the game better than most.
Now, let's see if he'll be in the same position when the dust settles after today's slate of games. If so, it might be time for the Atlanta starlet to find a new job come 2024: this time, as a psychic.
How many perfect brackets remains in March Madness 2024?
ESPN
ESPN reported there are only 1,825 perfect brackets remaining after the first day.
NCAA
NCAA reported that only .00038% of brackets remained perfect through the completion of Thursday's games.
Yahoo
Yahoo reported only 16 perfect brackets remain following Thursday's games.
EXPERT PICKS: DeCourcy (UConn) | Bender (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)
Perfect March Madness bracket odds
The odds are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,80 for having a random bracket pick every game right. That number spelled out would nine quintillion, 223 quadrillion, 372 trillion, 36 billion, 854 million, 775 thousand, 808. If you have some basketball knowledge, your odds spike to a whopping 1 in 120.2 billion.
Worldometers tracks the current number of people on Earth at 8.1 billion. If everyone in the world had basketball knowledge — I highly doubt the newborns around the world are ready to guess whether Michigan State or Mississippi State will win the first round — they would need to fill out 15 brackets each to have a chance at getting a perfect one. Even then, they would all have to fill out unique brackets to really maximize the odds.
