And just like that, there were no perfect brackets left standing.
The final flawless bracket in ESPN's Tournament Challenge has officially missed a pick after the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats took care of business and avoided an upset defeat against the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday in the round of 32.
Over 24 million brackets had been filled out on ESPN, but not a single one remains perfect through the fourth day of NCAA tournament play.
THE LAST PERFECT MEN'S BRACKET FALLS‼️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2025
The last perfect bracket gets its first loss after Kentucky defeats Illinois 84-75 👏 pic.twitter.com/U95dZ8CtL5
Kentucky's Koby Brea was outstanding during the 84–75 win. He shot 10-for-16 from the field and scored 23 points as he lifted the Wildcats back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019. His hot hand helped Kentucky outlast a 23-point outing from Illinois' Kylan Boswell.
While we're through another year without a perfect NCAA tournament bracket, some March Madness bracket history was made on Sunday. Warren Buffett, billionaire chairperson of the multinational conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, hosts an annual March Madness pool, in which he offers $1 million to anyone in the company who can maintain a perfect bracket through the round of 32. This year, there were reportedly multiple winners, thanks in part to a rule change that dictated winners would need just 30 of 32 correct picks.
According to the NCAA, the odds of an individual completing a perfect bracket is a staggering 1 in 9.2 quintillion (1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808) if you're just guessing on a game-by-game basis. The odds improve a bit to 1 in 120,200,000,000 assuming the individual filling out a bracket is an avid college basketball fan.
Maybe some day, there will be an individual who somehow defies the odds and fills out the perfect bracket. Today, however, is not that day.
More March Madness on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Final Perfect Bracket Topples After Kentucky Defeats Illinois in Round of 32.
