Bijan Robinson's perfect March Madness bracket is not more. The Falcons running back saw his streak end as No. 2 Marquette rallied to beat No. 15 Western Kentucky. Robinson had backed the underdog Hilltoppers to win. Furthermore, Robinson looked to be proven right for at least half the game - WKU led by 7 at the half. However, a 51-point second half by the Golden Eagles ended the upset, and Robinson's bracket. Things are even worse in the women's tournament. Just 4% of brackets remain perfect after just three games.
Entering Day Two, Robinson was one of around 2100 perfect brackets across the four main bracket challenges - NCAA, ESPN, CBS, and Yahoo. A string of day-one upsets absolutely decimated the runs of many hopefuls. Three 11-seeds in Duquesne, Oregon, and NC State all progressed. However, the major bracket killer was No. 3 Kentucky being stunned by No. 14 Oakland. Robinson had shared his elation on Instagram. "Perfect Bracket day one and they said it was crazy. Yessirski lol," Robinson wrote over an image of himself with a massive grin. Robinson is backing his alma mater, Texas, to go all the way.
March Madness Game Paused For Kate Middleton Cancer News
Elsewhere, a longer-than-usual TV timeout was briefly called during the March Madness matchup between Northwestern and FAU so that CBS could release a news bulletin about Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis. The timeout was called with around five minutes remaining in the game. As the news was delivered during the break, viewers at home did not miss any of the on-court action. However, viewers were treated to the bizarre spectacle of CBS transitioning from a Geico ad to news about the Princess of Wales.
However, timeout aside, it was bad news for FAU. After serving as the inspiration Cinderella story of the 2023 bracket, the eight-seeded Owls are headed home after the first round this year. The game went to overtime, but Northwestern quickly dominated the extra period 19-7. No member of FAU surpassed 20 points, with center Vladislav Goldin leading the team with 19. Meanwhile, the Wildcats' Ryan Langborg scored a career-high 27 points in the win. Northwestern will likely face UConn in the next round.
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