LAS VEGAS — And then there was one.
Out of 3.25 million entries in the ESPN Tournament Challenge, just one perfect women’s NCAA Tournament bracket remains after No. 3 seed Oregon State defeated No. 2 Notre Dame 70-65 to open Friday’s play in the Sweet 16.
There were three perfect ESPN brackets after the first two rounds concluded Monday night, but all on CBS’ site were gone by then.
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 tournament.
PHOTOS: March Madness: Only 1 perfect bracket remains in the ESPN Tournament Challenge
“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 Caitlin 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.