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Alberto Camargo | NCAA.com | March 23, 2023

Only 3 brackets correctly predicted 15 teams in the Sweet 16 — according to the Men's Bracket Challenge Game data

Andy Katz's new Sweet 16 Prediction

After one weekend of March Madness: Just two 1-seeds remain and only half of the 10 most popular champion picks are still alive. 

There are no remaining perfect men's brackets — the last few to survive (26 in total) were knocked out when a certain FDU shocked Purdue on the second day of the tournament. Overall, just three brackets correctly picked 15 teams in the Sweet 16. 

🍭 The unexpected March Madness Sweet 16, previewed and how to watch

So who were the (nearly) clairvoyant three?

The one who should probably play the lottery

On top of being one of just three 15-of-16 brackets, user "jack1999" was one of — presumably — very few BCG players who chose both FDU and Princeton to win their first round games. We're not sure how many BCG entries chose both unpopular outcomes, but the middle of that Venn diagram cannot be very large.

So where did Jack go wrong? In picking Indiana over Miami (FL), a virtual toss-up in a 4-5 seed matchup. That being said, to correctly pick the 15 and 16 seeds that actually did advance, perhaps Jack should play the Powerball while his luck is still riding high.

MORE COVERAGE: Upset tracker | How each bracket was busted | Latest highlights and previews

The one who believed in Memphis

User "keineli7" made their only mistake in picking the Tigers to defeat FAU in the first round and upset Purdue in the second. Understandably, they did not see FDU coming — just like 97.64% of BCG entries. Regardless of the second round opponent, "keineli7" picked the Tigers to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2009.

Interestingly, this user loved a first round upset. They correctly picked Furman, Princeton and Arizona State's wins, as well as picking 14-seed UCSB against Baylor, 12-seed Oral Roberts over Duke and 12-seed VCU rather than Saint Mary's. 

The one who believed in Arizona 

There's no shame in being part of an overwhelming majority. User "bryceadams75261435" joined 83.84% of BCG entries to pick Arizona to reach the Sweet 16. They certainly did not anticipate Princeton's first tournament win since 1998. 

🧐 Here's how many brackets somehow picked Princeton to reach the Sweet 16

Not only did they think the Wildcats would reach the second weekend, but they also picked Arizona to make the Elite 8 before failing to reach the Final Four, extending the drought another year. Surely 'Zona fans would trade their reality for Bryce's prediction right now.

Here is each team in the Sweet 16 and what percentage of completed BCG brackets picked them to reach this stage of the tournament:

team % of brackets
(1) Alabama 91.32%
(1) Houston 86.78%
(2) UCLA 87.01%
(2) Texas 77.61%
(3) Kansas State 52.37%
(3) Gonzaga 77.80%
(3) Xavier 72.37%
(4) UConn 70.27%
(4) Tennessee 30.26%
(5) San Diego State 33.35%
(5) Miami (FL) 48.86%
(6) Creighton 39.56%
(7) Michigan State 14.12%
(8) Arkansas 6.35%
(9) FAU 7.48%
(15) Princeton 1.86%

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