© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tragedy, Thy Name Is A Busted Bracket

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

Upsets ruled the day yesterday in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and today is following suit. For those stuck with the top-seeded teams as they filled out a tournament bracket, those upsets can be upsetting. Here is NPR's Nathan Rott.

NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE: It took just 59 minutes and 55 seconds...

(SOUNDBITE OF SPORTSCAST)

ROTT: ...and a go-ahead bucket from Dayton guard Vee Sanford broadcast here on CBS.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPORTSCAST)

ROTT: For more than 80 percent of America, including one Tom Knox in Columbus, Ohio, to watch the brackets go up in flames. How did it feel to have your hopes and dreams ruined 60 minutes into a two-and-a-half-week tournament?

TOM KNOX: It did not feel good.

ROTT: For Knox, the sting was especially sharp.

KNOX: I had Ohio State winning the championship.

ROTT: He followed his heart instead of his head, not that it would have made much of a difference. 11th-ranked Dayton's upset of sixth-seeded Ohio State in the first game of the NCAA tournament was just the first. Harvard beat Cincinnati. North Dakota State stampeded the Sooners, and earlier today, 14th-seeded Mercer, from Macon, Georgia, topped third-seeded Duke - yes, Duke, one of the top NCAA teams of all time. Bracketologists cringed. More than 11 million brackets were filled out on ESPN.com. After Duke's loss, only 2,185 remained perfect or about .02 percent. And we're not even through the first round of the tournament. Nathan Rott, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Nathan Rott is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where he focuses on environment issues and the American West.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.