The Odds of a Perfect NCAA Bracket Are Even Worse Than You Think

You have better odds of winning Powerball and Mega Millions in the same week than you do of filling out a perfect bracket

If you're placing your final bets on this year's March Madness winners, you're probably holding out hope for the dream outcome: a perfect NCAA bracket.

You know the odds are slim. But how slim are they? They're worse than you think: about 1 in 9.2 QUINTILLION.

How big is a quintillion? Well, if all 7 billion people in the world each filled out one bracket per minute, it would take about 2,500 years to fill out 9.2 quintillion brackets. And if you stack 9.2 quintillion brackets on top of each other, it would reach the sun and back—more than 3,000 times.

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Here are some things with better odds than getting a perfect bracket:

  • Winning Powerball and Mega Millions in the same week
  • Your favorite MLB team winning 12-straight World Series
  • Steph Curry making 414 consecutive free throws

But don't let us ruin your fun. Maybe this is the year you get lucky. Maybe Steph Curry will make that epic free throw run, too. After a year like 2020, anything is possible.