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2024 March Madness: Perfect Brackets Slashed After Kentucky’s Shock Loss

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Christian Alamodin | Last updated 3/22/24

It’s not even that long since March Madness began, and plenty of fans are already talking about how unpredictable the tournament is. After all, no one expected the Kentucky Wildcats to make another early exit in the tournament for the third straight year.

The fact that such a powerhouse program fell to such an underdog team was something that rocked plenty of fans who made brackets for the 2024 iteration of the tournament. In fact, almost nobody counted on Oakland to pull off such a magnificent upset on the first day of the tournament where underdogs thrive.

Less than 1% of March Madness brackets remain perfect

After the stunning upset Oakland Golden Grizzlies pulled off, March Madness’ official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a thrilling statistic that will make fans realize just how few thought the Golden Grizzlies would be able to pull it off:

OAKLAND STUNS KENTUCKY AND LEAVES LESS THAN 1% OF BRACKETS PERFECT #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/0TldePBRKc

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024

The fact that only less than one percent of brackets who still made the right picks for the 2024 tournament is wild. After all, nobody thought the Wildcats would bow out of the competition this early.

Are the Kentucky Wildcats no longer the best basketball program in America?

The Wildcats weren’t supposed to lose this early in the tournament, after all. With players like Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham, they were supposed to make a deep playoff run and finish with a solid record.

However, Jack Gohlke put up a legendary 32 points on an equally impressive 50% shooting and 50% from deep that would immortalize him in Golden Grizzlies lore for years to come. Moreover, the Wildcats also fell short in the SEC tournament, falling to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

With the way Kentucky has played in recent March Madness tournaments, it would be weird to call them a powerhouse program. Coach John Calipari needs to get his act together if he wants to extend his stay with the team.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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