Are There Any Perfect Brackets Left for March Madness 2019?

There are no perfect brackets left for March Madness, as the final game approaches between Virginia and Texas Tech. Gregg Nigl’s “Center Road” bracket lasted the longest by far, making it to 50 games before ending its stunning success streak.

Per NCAA, Nigl’s bracket correctly guessed the outcome of the first 49 games in the NCAA basketball tournament; his bracket finally failed when 3-seed Purdue toppled 2-seed Tennessee in overtime. And for what it’s worth, the bracket also predicted a totally different national championship game than the one between Virginia and Texas Tech: the “Center Road” bracket pitted Gonzaga and University of Kentucky as the two last teams to stand in 2019.

Here’s what you need to know:

 


LOOK: Nigl’s ‘Center Road’ Bracket, Boasting 49 Wins in Total

NCAA

Above is Nigl’s March Madness bracket, showcasing his 48 correct bets so far in the notoriously surprising basketball playoff betting process. The NCAA noted that this 49 game success-rate shatters the previous record of 39 games guessed correctly.

According to NCAA, Nigl is a 40-year-old neuropsychologist from Columbus, Ohio. What’s more, he had no idea that he was the last man standing, so to speak, until NCAA contacted him to let him know.

To the NCAA, Nigl explained his strategy:

I always watch bracketology, I listen to them, take into account what they say. And then, honestly, sometimes it’s which teams I like better. Some cities I like better, some teams I like better, some coaches I like better. I do look at the rankings too. It’s a combination of things. Don’t get me wrong, a bunch of this is luck. I know that. I’m not going to say I knew every matchup by any means.

According to Nigl’s LinkedIn, he works at Columbus VA, a hospital connected to the Veterans’ Association. He has worked there for nine years, according to the resume.

Prior to working there, Nigl attended Saginaw Valley State University as an undergrad, then attended Nova Southeastern University to get his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.


According to His Interview With the NCAA, Nigl Almost Didn’t Fill Out His Bracket

According to his interview with the NCAA, Nigl almost didn’t fill out his record-breaking, odds-defying bracket. He said, “Yeah, this is my friend’s bracket (group) that he invited me to, and I almost didn’t fill it out because we were just doing it for fun and I’m in a couple other ones at work and stuff.”

 

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