# Has there ever been a documented perfect NCAA tournament bracket? What are the odds? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 22, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398 "2010-03-22T21:59:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398/41 "2010-03-25T00:20:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But, see, the trick is that you store them in a compressed format. Then, after the tournament is over, you just uncompress the appropriate part of the file, and show it off. I know, I did that assuming that you’re using 63 bits per bracket. 2[sup]63[/sup] is a large number. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398/42 "2010-03-25T00:49:04Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I know, I did that assuming that you’re using 63 bits per bracket. 2[sup]63[/sup] is a large number. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398/43 "2010-03-25T13:59:48Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Essentially, isn’t he saying that all the 1-seeds and 2-seeds are about equal? > How is this shocking? It’s not, particularly. But it does sometimes fly against common wisdom. Take the example I was discussing in my last post: if UNI beats MSU on Friday (fat chance!), then their next game might be an Elite Eight matchup as a 9 seed against 2 seed Ohio State. Every commentator would talk about them being an underdog in that game–but the statistical analysis of the history of the tournament shows that this is an error–UNI shouldn’t be considered much of an underdog against anyone in this situation (my alum homerism above not withstanding). And the Vegas line (correctly, IMO) reflects this–I see the Spartans favored by only one point, in spite of them being a 4 seed facing a 9. The biggest line I see for this round is Purdue getting 8 1/2 against Duke; I’d be inclined to bet on Purdue with that line, and starting with the next round, any underdog is probably the right bet. Even, say, 12 seed Cornell vs. 2 seed West Virginia. If Cornell gets to that game, it’s because they beat Kentucky this round after beating Wisconsin last round. At that point, they’ll have proved their seeding wrong, and you have to think that they’re capable of beating anybody. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398/44 "2010-03-25T15:48:41Z")
Both lines may reflect key injuries to MSU and Purdue stars, though. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398/45 "2010-03-25T16:10:53Z")
Aren’t the lines based on what’s being bet, i.e. the _perception_ of the people making the bets, even if that perception doesn’t match reality? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-documented-perfect-ncaa-tournament-bracket-what-are-the-odds/533398.md?page=2)