It is estimated that roughly 70 million brackets are made every single year for the Men’s March Madness Bracket Challenge, with an estimated 40 million Americans participating in the challenge each year. While the goal has changed overtime, whether that be to win a few money in a group of friends, earn bragging rights for picking a correct upset or just finding an excuse to watch a few extra college games, the ultimate (and still unachieved) goal still remains: to make the perfect bracket. If one were able to achieve this goal, Warren Buffett has said that he will pay the mastermind $1 BILLION. 

Many websites such as ESPN allow users to create up to 25 brackets with every new account created. “So why after all these years of March Madness has nobody created a perfect bracket?” is the question many find themselves asking during March. Don’t be fooled by your 25 different opportunities to create the perfect bracket and earn the $1 billion prize money… it is not that easy. The mathematical odds of creating a perfect bracket are 1-in-120.2 billion, hence why nobody has yet achieved Buffett’s reward. 

In case you may have forgotten to fill out a bracket this year or want some entail on the madness that has taken place yet again this NCAA tournament, here is everything you need to know about why, just two rounds into the tournament, there are no more perfect brackets this year:

•  There were 10 upsets in round 1 and 6 in round 2, for a grand total 33.3% of games taken place in the opening two rounds ending in upsets

During round one:

• 20% of people correctly picked #12 New Mexico State to beat #5 UConn
• 29% of people correctly picked #11 Notre Dame to beat #6 Alabama
• Only 47% of people correctly picked the higher seed #6 Texas to beat #11 Virginia Tech
• Only 4% of people picked #15 St. Peter’s to beat #2 Kentucky
• 14% of people correctly picked #12 Richmond to beat #5 Iowa
• 37% of people correctly picked #11 Iowa State to beat #6 LSU

During round 2:

• Only 16% of people picked #8 UNC to beat #1 Baylor
• Only 1.5% of people picked #15 St. Peter’s to the Sweet 16
• 14% of people correctly picked #11 Michigan to beat #3 Tennessee
• 70% of people had #5 Iowa winning who lost opening round 
• 73% of people picked #3 Wisconsin to win second round, but were instead defeated by #11 Iowa State
• 87% of people picked #2 Auburn to win second round, but were instead defeated by #10 Miami

As you can see, this time of year is not called “March Madness” for nothing. While the feat for a perfect bracket may not have happened again this year, there is always next year!