By Easton DeMilia / Staff Writer

A perfect bracket once again proved impossible in 2026 as the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments delivered the usual mix of upsets and surprises, leaving Missouri Valley students testing their luck against the chaos.

The anomalies of every tournament bring fandom and excitement to everyone. 

ESPN, CBS, Kalshi and many others offer significant cash prizes for correctly predicting the 63 basketball games. 

It all started on March 15 this year, which indicated each team’s seed and region. 

Then the fans started to put ink to paper. It is hard enough just to predict the champion in itself. 

Blue Bloods like Duke, Kansas, UConn, and Kentucky are just a few that have a history of being at their best in the tournament. 

While these may be the go-to options for fans, the four one seeds this year were Michigan, Arizona, Duke, and Florida. 

Michigan ultimately climbed the mountain and became the 2026 NCAA Champions. 

Tre’vyon Chatman, a new fan of the bracket challenge, tested his knowledge for the first time. 

“It started off relatively strong, but by the Sweet 16, I had essentially lost all my chances with a big upset of Texas beating Gonzaga,” Chatman said. 

Anthony Leath, a basketball player for Missouri Valley, makes a bracket yearly. 

“My bracket was 65 percent correct this year,” Leath said. “Pretty bad in comparison to recent years. The game that really busted my bracket was the Florida exit in the round of 32, which was the one I had winning.”

Even though it was a down year for him, there is a high chance to see Leath chalk another bracket up next year. 

“The one thing that keeps me creating brackets yearly is the excitement and joy the game of basketball gives me,” Leath said. 

An avid basketball follower, Jesse Shannon brings out all he has for this tournament challenge. 

“I am a very competitive person, so I like to try and always win my pool,” Shannon said. 

Picking the right teams is both exciting and stressful to watch as the tournament progresses.

“My bracket really went wrong in the Elite Eight because I had both Iowa State and Duke making the Final Four, which is worth the most points,” Shannon said. “I create one bracket each year because it continues to give me the thrill of watching every game and cheering for my bracket to do well. I love cheering for the underdogs and wanting chaos to occur each and every game.”