Bracket Buster definition: a 6+ seeded team that reaches the Elite 8
Most bracket fillers conservatively stick to the highest seeds when picking their Elite 8 teams, and rightly so – 81% of all Elite 8 teams were seeded 1-5. So when a 6+ seed team reaches the Elite 8, most people’s brackets are busted. Based on simulating the tournament thousands of times with my sweet computer model (click here to see just how amazing it is at predicting NCAA Tournament outcomes), here are this year’s most likely Bracket Busters.
Region | Seed | Team | Elite 8 Probability |
South | 7 | Cincinnati | 28% |
Midwest | 6 | Iowa St. | 13% |
West | 6 | Buffalo | 11% |
South | 6 | Villanova | 10% |
West | 7 | Nevada | 7% |
South | 12 | Oregon | 7% |