It’s the time of year when everyone turns into a college basketball expert, spending way too much time filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket as national productivity plummets.
Millions of those would-be experts are playing the ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge. The network reported Thursday that 24.4 million brackets were filled out for the 2025 contest, setting a record for the third consecutive year.
That compares to 22.6 million brackets last year.
ESPN reported that at its peak before the contest deadline, 709 brackets were being completed per second.
It didn’t hurt to have the network’s broadcast talents promoting the challenge.
ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge – Make Picks – Sign up now to play the #1 Men’s bracket game for FREE! $135,000 in prizes.#MarchMadness https://t.co/f9k4LJS8GH
— Chris Mad Dog Russo (@MadDogUnleashed) March 20, 2025
Join me and other @ESPNRadio hosts in our annual NCAA Tournament Challenge.
I did the anti-@PeterBurnsESPN and only submitted ONE bracket each for our men’s and women’s pools.
Add your bracket here: https://t.co/BnxzCoiZNb pic.twitter.com/8MrN3xxpA4
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 20, 2025
Regarding selections, Duke was the most popular choice to win the tournament, winning 25% of all brackets. Florida was second, with 21%.
Not surprisingly, more fans selected No. 1 seeds, such as Auburn, Duke, Florida, and Houston, to reach the Final Four than any other combination of teams.
Oh, as for anyone picking that unicornish “perfect bracket,” forget it. As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, less than 8 million perfect brackets remained (you can follow that number in real-time at ESPN’s Perfect Bracket Tracker). In case you’re wondering, CBS Sports calculated that the odds of filling out a perfect bracket are roughly 1 in 9.22 quadrillion.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.