Michigan State's loss in women's NCAA Tournament first blemish for 1.3 million brackets

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It didn't take long for perfect brackets in the women's NCAA Tournament to begin dropping off Friday.

Ninth-seeded Michigan State's 59-56 loss to No. 8 North Carolina meant 1.3 million brackets were no longer perfect in the ESPN Tournament Challenge. That leaves 1.8 million without a blemish.

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.

Sheldon Jacobson, who runs the Bracketodds website, said going with chalk in the women’s bracket was more effective than on that men’s side.

“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.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness