A true tradition across the Atlantic, filling brackets before the start of March Madness is the favorite activity of Americans, so much so that it has a very specific name: “Bracketology”. This concept, which consists of predicting all 63 matches of the university tournament, gives rise to a real competition where everyone hopes to push perfection as far as possible. Spoiler, nobody ever managed to finish with a perfect 63/63, but a certain Gregg Nigl didn’t go very far in 2019.
You may never have heard his name, but Mr. Nigl is in the Bracketology Hall of Fame today. He is the benchmark, he represents the bar to be reached, he is the man who has pushed the limits of the possible. Three years ago, in March of the year 2019, Gregg actually had his moment of glory. A neuropsychologist by trade, Nigl is quietly living his life near Columbus, Ohio and has just filled his bracket like millions of Americans. He even completes four in total to increase his chances, but it’s the last one that will take him the furthest.
“I was sick on Thursday, and I filled my bracket in the morning, just before the deadline, I almost didn’t. I was lying in my bed, I was sick, I called work. I almost went back to bed without filling it, but I did because I was playing with my group of friends. »
– Gregg Nigl
If Gregg necessarily bets on the big favourites, he does not hesitate to come out with a fine nose by adding a few little surprises to his table. Because a March Madness without the slightest surprise is not really a March Madness. Except that at this time, he is a bit like all Americans who have completed one or more brackets: he hopes to see an alignment of the planets in his favor, without really imagining what is about to happen.
First day of competition: 16 good predictions out of 16 matches played. Wokay is serious, but not enough to ignite so far. The second day ? 16/16…again! WOW limit it’s starting to get creepy there. Predicting all 32 games in the first round of March Madness well is clearly a huge achievement, even more so given the surprises that characterized the university tournament that year. Murray State University (ranked #12) – led by a certain Ja Morant – beats for example Marquette (#5), UC Irvine (#13) hits Kansas State (#4), Liberty (#12) takes over on Mississippi State (#5) and Oregon (#12) sends Wisconsin (#5) home. Result, only 15 brackets out of approximately 80 million are still alive, including that of Gregg Nigl. Touched by grace, he continues by correctly predicting all 16 matches of the second round, thus arriving until the Sweet 16 with a perfect scoreboard! 48 good predictions over 48 matches, no one had ever pushed perfection so far. Among all brackets verified by the NCAA before 2019, the record was 39 consecutive good results. Suffice to say that Gregg has just destroyed it.
“I got a message from the NCAA, at first I thought it was a joke or something. »
Not necessarily having his eyes riveted on his bracket in each match, Gregg Nigl is suddenly propelled onto the national scene for his greatest surprise. The face behind the pseudonym “Center Road” is now known to all, Gregg chaining interviews on major television channels like CBS and NBC. Everyone wants to know the secret of his success, which he humbly associates with “a lot of luck and a bit of instinct”. He is even invited to attend with his son the meeting between Michigan – his favorite university – and Texas Tech during the Sweet 16. In short, an excessive attention which will somehow turn against him, a bit like the TrashTalk Curse that you know very well. Because after having correctly predicted the first match of the round of 16 of the tournament, the crazy series officially ends at 49 meetings after Tennessee’s loss to Purdue in overtime, and behind Nigl will crash on 8 of the last 13 predictions. But it doesn’t matter in the end, he just wrote history.
“It was the craziest week of my life. »
Gregg Nigl had a one in 281 trillion chance of reaching the Sweet 16 stage with a perfect bracket. One in 281 trillion chance! It’s probably not tomorrow that we will see someone get this far, but it costs nothing to try your luck. So do like Gregg three years ago, even if you’re sick…
Source texte : NCAA / March Madness / CNBC
For the first time EVER, someone perfectly predicted the #MarchMadness #Sweet16.@TheAndyKatz tracked down the man who beat the odds, Gregg Nigl.
???? https://t.co/ANu0UyVDQs pic.twitter.com/2eRUW3qB1E— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 26, 2019