Brackets Busted as Upsets Abound in NCAA Tournament

For only the eighth time in history—and the first since 2013—a 15th-seeded team beat a 2nd-seeded team in the NCAA men's basketball tournament when Middle Tennessee State bested Michigan State on Friday, the New York Times reports. And just like that, nary a perfect bracket was to be found. CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports tweeted after the game that all brackets submitted to them had been busted. ESPN basketball fans are apparently a bit more savvy, as Sports Center tweets there are three perfect brackets left there. But it wasn't just Middle Tennessee State causing trouble. According to the AP, lower-seeded teams were 11-9 through 20 games of the tournament.

The Times calls Middle Tennessee State's 90-81 victory over Michigan State "one of the most stunning upsets in NCAA tournament history." More than 99% of Yahoo! brackets had Michigan State winning the game. About 25% of Yahoo! and ESPN brackets had Michigan State advancing to the Final Four. And More than 27% of Yahoo! brackets and 22% of ESPN brackets had Michigan State winning the whole thing. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee State was playing in only its second NCAA tournament in 27 years. (More March Madness stories.)