Virginia Tech professor shares stats for predicting a perfect March Madness bracket

One expert says the chances of creating a perfect bracket is one in nine quintillion

FILE -The March Madness logo is shown on the court during the first half of a men's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 20, 2021. Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina and Duke will play in the first Final Four to take place under the new world of name, image and likeness endorsements in college sports. It allows college players to earn money through endorsements. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – March Madness is almost here, which means it’s time to start filling out college basketball brackets.

But what is the likelihood of building the perfect bracket, or predicting the final four?

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Virginia Tech marketing professor Rajesh Bagchi said the chances of creating a perfect bracket is one in nine quintillions — that’s 18 zeros.

Bagchi also shared some tips on how to build a successful bracket.

Bagchi said choosing two of the number one seed teams to make it to the final four is 50% likely.

There is also an 82% likelihood that a number two seed will make it to the final four.

Bagchi also shared where upsets n the tournament are most likely to happen.

“What happens in more likely in terms of upsets is interestingly number nine seeds win more games against number eight seeds. I think it’s almost like 52% of the time,” he said.

Bagchi also recommends staying away from picking a number 12 seed or lower to be in the final four because he says it has never happened.


About the Author:

Sydney joined the WSLS 10 News team in June 2021.