The NIT Bracket Challenge is very, very difficult, and no one should be ashamed of their champion losing its first game. Especially not any of you who might have picked the New Mexico Lobos to win it all.
Here’s the link to the scoreboards. More info:
- The average bracket got 8.3 picks correct out of the 16 first round games. That’s 52%. We are so good at this, you guys.
- Our leading bracket—NIT MADNESS—has 15 of 16 correct, their only miss coming on the Yale/Vanderbilt game. They had Yale losing in the second round to their eventual champion, Michigan, so they could still theoretically score all but one possible point in this tournament. No one got 14 correct, so NIT MADNESS currently has a two-point lead on the field.
- Morehead State was the most surprising upset to our pickers, only 5% of whom took Clemson to lose. Hofstra came next, picked in only 9% of brackets.
- Everyone who filled out a bracket can still get at least one more pick correct, for two more points.
- Fargo is in last place among celebrities.
- 53% of brackets still have their champion remaining, but at least 11% of those will lose their champ in the first game of the second round. Vanderbilt (13%) and Michigan (11%) are the most popular champions of the remaining teams standing. That winner will get a quarterfinal home game, whether they play UAB or Morehead.
- Three of the four schools nobody picked to win it all are still alive: Utah Valley, Hofstra, and Eastern Washington. Sam Houston State (1 bracket), Morehead State (2), and UCF (3) are the other least popular remaining possible champions.
We’ll be back on Saturday after the first two second round games. Then, on Sunday, we’ve got a giant day.
Rest while you can, NIT fans.
