LAS VEGAS — Three contestants in the ESPN Tournament Challenge went through the first two rounds of women's NCAA Tournament without any misses.
Those were the only ones of 3.25 million brackets to accomplish that feat through Monday night's action. The tournament resumes Friday with the Sweet 16.
All the brackets might have been wiped out if eighth-seeded West Virginia had managed to upset No. 1 Iowa, but Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes prevailed 64-54 thanks to a late run. No. 7 seed Creighton also had the chance to beat No. 2 UCLA, but the Bruins escaped with a 67-63 victory.
Just .0003% were perfect on CBS’ site through Sunday, but there was no update Monday. CBS does not release totals.
There are 16 winless ESPN brackets that will stay that way the rest of the tournament.
Sheldon Jacobson, who runs the Bracketodds website, said going with chalk in the women’s bracket was more effective than on the men’s side.
That is the way the first round played out over the first two days. Higher seeds were 31-1, with No. 6 Louisville's 71-69 loss to No. 11 Middle Tennessee on Friday the one exception. The Cardinals' loss was responsible for 1.58 million brackets taking their first defeat — the highest of the first round.
“At the end of the day, you know a lot of the No. 1s are going to be in the Final Four,” Jacobson said. “Occasionally, you’ll get a two or a three, but it just doesn’t happen very often. The men’s game is far more unpredictable. We can get high-scoring brackets in the women’s game, but so can everybody else.”
South Carolina is the favorite among brackets submitted to the CBS site, but many also believe in Clark and Iowa. The Gamecocks were chosen on 41.5% of CBS ballots to win the NCAA Tournament, followed by Iowa at 29.6%.
Then there is a serious drop-off, with USC next at 4.2%. Last year’s champion, LSU, is on 3.2% of ballots.