How every women's bracket busted in the 2026 NCAA tournament
🚨 (6) Notre Dame 67, (2) Vanderbilt 64; Final perfect bracket busts
The lone women's perfect bracket fell in the first game of the Sweet 16.
No. 6 Notre Dame's 67-64 win against No. 2 Vanderbilt on Friday afternoon eliminated the only remaining perfect bracket: "" from Otto Schellhammer of Pittsburgh, Pa in ESPN's game.
The Irish were led by a historic performance from Hannah Hildago who put up 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals. SEC player of the year Mikayla Blakes scored 26 for the Commodores in 40 minutes, but went 7-of-26 from the field and 0-5 from three.
The last bracket made it to the 49th game of the tournament — nine fewer than the 58th game last year. Last year's final bracket, “” on fell when No. 1 UCLA took down No. 3 LSU, 72-65, in the Elite Eight.
We started March Madness tracking around 5.2 million brackets in the major online games. Schellhammer lasted six more games than the next closest when No. 10 Virginia's win over No. 2 Iowa cut the perfect total from seven to one.
Sweet 16 action tips off TODAY
Good morning basketball fans, and welcome back to another day of action in the 2026 NCAA women's basketball tournament. The slate in today's matchups sure is sweet.
(2) Vanderbilt vs. (6) Notre Dame will kick off Sweet 16 play at 2:30 p.m. ET ahead of three other face offs, all fighting for a spot in the Elite 8. We'll be here, continuing live coverage of the games and tracking the lone remaining perfect bracket (see below).
After the shakeups from the Round of 32, will there be even more chaos this weekend? Stay tuned for all the updates here throughout the day.
Friday, March 27 (Sweet 16)
- 2:30 p.m. | No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Notre Dame | ESPN
- 5 p.m. | No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 North Carolina | ESPN
- 7:30 p.m. | No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Minnesota | ESPN
- 10 p.m. | No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN
🏆 Meet the owner of the last remaining perfect bracket
The lone perfect bracket has been found.
5.2 million brackets across all major online games dwindled down to one after Monday night's contests with upset wins from (10) Virginia, and (6) Notre Dame. was able to locate that one.
If you're thinking the remaining unbeaten is a basketball super fan, high school player, or coach...think again. The bracket without a blemish belongs to Otto Schellhammer --- an eighth grader from suburban Pittsburgh.
No, the 14-year-old is not some basketball fanatic. It's quite the opposite really. While his passion lies in lacrosse, Schellhammer admitted that he didn't even check on his bracket or watch a March Madness game until Monday when his bracket was designated as the sole survivor.
"I know people say this a lot about March Madness, but it was 100% luck. I know basically nothing about any type of basketball," Schellhammer explained to the AP.
Standing with 48/48 games guessed correctly, the AP notes that his odds of remaining as last perfect bracket are one in 41.2 million. Put that one on your college resume.
Schellhammer still has 15 more games between distinction and perfection, picking (1) Texas to take down (1) UConn in Phoenix while the record for best start in the women's competition is 57 picks from last year.
Looking ahead, he has (3) Duke knocking off (2) LSU in the Sweet 16 and (3) TCU over (1) South Carolina in the Elite Eight. We'll see if Schellhammer's luck continues with tipoff today at 2:30 p.m. ET between (2) Vanderbilt and (6) Notre Dame.
🚗 Ridin' solo to the Sweet 16: One perfect bracket remains
We started last week with around 5.2 million brackets across all the major online games. Now after the second round, just one bracket remains perfect, picking 48/48 games correctly. Monday began with 235 perfect brackets before wins from (10) Virginia, (6) Notre Dame and (3) Ohio State trimmed the field to just one — "" on ESPN. Having the lone perfect bracket should make you feel like a star; after 48 correct picks, you can't stop Oschell17's shine.
They've survived two rounds, but there are still 15 more games between them and a completely perfect bracket. First, they'll have to get through the Sweet 16. Here's how they picked it:
Friday, March 27
- (2) Vanderbilt over (6) Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m.
- (1) UConn over (4) North Carolina, 5 p.m.
- (1) UCLA over (4) Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
- (3) Duke over (2) LSU,10 p.m.
Saturday, March 28
- (2) Michigan over (3) Louisville, 12:30 p.m.
- (1) Texas over (5) Kentucky, 3 p.m.
- (1) South Carolina over (4) Oklahoma, 5 p.m.
- (3) TCU over (10) Virginia, 7:30 p.m.
Aside from (3) Duke over (2) LSU, those Sweet 16 picks are all chalk. The only other lower-seed pick remaining on Oschell17's bracket is (3) TCU over (1) South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
It's hard for teams to advance into the third weekend of March Madness, but it's statistically harder to have a perfect bracket survive into the third weekend. Can Oschell17 make it to the Elite Eight?
😴 That's a wrap for Round 2
Well, there you have it — 68 teams trimmed to 16 in just six days. If you’ve been glued to the action like we have, whether from home, the office, or on the move, we appreciate you. Get some rest while you can; there’s plenty of basketball still ahead.
In the nightcap, South Carolina rolled past Southern California 101–61, powered by Joyce Edwards’ dominant 23 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and an 8-for-12 shooting performance in just 27 minutes.
Out west, UCLA closed the evening with an 87–68 dismantling of eighth‑seeded Oklahoma State. Lauren Betts, unsurprisingly, set the tone with 35 points on 15‑of‑19 shooting, plus nine rebounds and five assists.
As for the quest for a perfect bracket, we began the day with 235 flawless entries. Then No. 10 Virginia’s double‑overtime upset of No. 2 Iowa slashed that number to just seven. Notre Dame’s win over Ohio State trimmed it even further, leaving a single perfect bracket standing — "" on ESPN.
Here's how Monday's action impacted perfect brackets:
- No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 6 Alabama — 215
- No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 10 Virginia — 7
- No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Notre Dame — 1
- No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Kentucky — 1
- No. 1. UConn vs. No. 9 Syracuse — 1
- No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Illinois — 1
- No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 9 USC — 1
- No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State — 1
(2) Vanderbilt 75, (7) Illinois 57
Mikayla Blakes taking care of business from downtown 🌃 x 🎥 ESPN2 /
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)
No. 2 seed Vanderbilt pulled away from No. 7 seed Illinois for a 75-57 win, advancing to its first Sweet 16 since 2009. The Commodores took control early, turning a close start into a 21-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. Vanderbilt extended its advantage in the second quarter, building a double-digit cushion behind contributions from Justine Pissott and Aubrey Galvan.
Illinois battled through foul trouble, with multiple starters picking up two fouls in the first half, and trailed by 11 at the break. Berry Wallace led the Illini with 8 points at halftime, but they were unable to close the gap in the second half.
Mikayla Blakes led Vanderbilt with a near triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, along with four steals. Pissott added 18 points as the Commodores knocked down 11 3-pointers in the win.
Perfect Bracket Tracker: Still just one perfect bracket remaining with only a few games left on the slate.
(1) UConn 98, (9) Syracuse 45
I thought we knew not to leave by herself on the 3PT line 👌 x 🎥 ESPN /
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)
UConn delivered a dominant performance, rolling past Syracuse 98-45 to advance to the Sweet 16, where it will face North Carolina in Fort Worth. The Huskies overwhelmed Syracuse from the start, taking a staggering 65-12 lead into halftime behind a suffocating defensive effort that forced 16 turnovers while allowing just six made field goals.
Azzi Fudd led the charge in her final home game, putting together a spectacular performance with 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range. She added five assists, four steals and three rebounds in a complete outing. Fudd scored 26 points in the first half alone, along with six 3-pointers, as UConn’s offense and defense clicked at an elite level.
Perfect Bracket Tracker: With the win, UConn moved on comfortably, and the lone remaining perfect bracket stayed intact.
(5) Kentucky 74, (4) West Virginia 73
Kentucky edged West Virginia 74-73 to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2016, surviving a late push by the Mountaineers in a tightly contested second round matchup. The Wildcats led 20-15 after the first quarter and built an early advantage before West Virginia rallied to tie the game 36-36 at halftime. Teonni Key and Clara Strack led Kentucky in the first half with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Gigi Cooke paced West Virginia with 13.
Kentucky took control in the third quarter, outscoring West Virginia 26-14 to build a 62-50 lead entering the fourth. Asia Boone sparked the surge with nine points on three 3-pointers. Strack delivered a dominant all-around performance, finishing with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
West Virginia stormed back late behind 23-point efforts from Cooke and Sydney Shaw, cutting the deficit to one in the final minute and earning a chance to win at the buzzer. Kentucky held on, however, securing the 74-73 victory and a trip to the Sweet 16.
- Perfect Bracket Tracker: Our lone perfect bracket is still going with four more games left to play today.
(6) Notre Dame 83, (3) Ohio State 73
Oh yeah that's TOUGHHHH
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)
📺 ESPN x
No. 6 seed Notre Dame picked up the big road win at Ohio State 83-73, advancing to the Sweet 16 and leaving just one perfect bracket remaining. The Fighting Irish took control in the second quarter, grabbing their first lead at 26-24 on a fast-break layup by Vanessa de Jesus and extending it with an 8-0 run.
Notre Dame carried that momentum into the second half, opening with a 7-2 run to build a 50-37 lead. Ohio State responded with a 10-0 surge, fueled by Jaloni Cambridge, who had 25 points and helped cut the deficit to 50-47 late in the third quarter. The Irish maintained a 58-54 edge entering the fourth.
In the final period, Hannah Hidalgo took over. She recorded a dominant all-around performance with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight steals, finishing just short of a triple-double. Notre Dame placed four players in double figures and pulled away late to secure the win.
Though Cambridge finished with 41 points, the Buckeyes' loss marked the third consecutive year Ohio State has been upset at home as a host site in the NCAA tournament.
- Perfect Bracket Tracker: We're done to just one unblemished bracket: "" on ESPN.
Here's the complete rundown of this last perfect bracket's final picks for Monday's games:
"Oschell17" on ESPN — Kentucky, UConn, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and UCLA
🚨2OT UPSET🚨: (10) Virginia 83, (2) Iowa 75; 7 perfect brackets left
Virginia is marching on.
No. 10 Virginia stunned No. 2 Iowa, 83-75, in double overtime, becoming the lone double-digit seed to win in the first round AND advance to the Sweet 16. It marks Virginia's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2000. The Cavaliers are also the first team in women's tournament history to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16. Only 2.19 percent of Women's Bracket Challenge Game entries had the Cavaliers in the Sweet 16.
It was an up-and-down day for both squads. Virginia led by as many as seven in the first half to take a 28-23 halftime lead. Then Iowa settled in, outscoring Virginia 25-11 in the third quarter and going up nine entering the final frame. But Virginia wouldn’t go down easily, outscoring Iowa 19-8 in the fourth quarter and tying the game at 57 with just over two minutes to go.
The first overtime had unobserved fouls on both sides, saw the lead change hands, Virginia tie the game on a seven-foot floater from Virginia’s Kymora Johnson and a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Iowa’s Taylor Stremlow go in-and-out in the final seconds. But the result was the same — another overtime.
If we learned one thing this tournament, Virginia is comfortable in close games. Virginia beat Arizona State in the First Four by two and then beat No. 7 Georgia in overtime in the first round.
The Cavaliers jumped ahead in the second overtime and never looked back. The two-headed attack of Paris Clark and Kymora Johnson pulled Virginia ahead. Clark hit an and-one to give Virginia a 70-67 lead and Johnson was fouled on a 3-point attempt, going 2 of 3 to put the Cavaliers up five, a lead Iowa would see grow to nine and only be able to cut down to six down the final stretch.
The Cavaliers had four double-digit scorers. Johnson, who never left the court, led the way with 28 points and four assists. Clark and Romi Levy finished with 20 and 13 points, respectively, while senior Caitlin Weimar finished with 12 coming off the bench.
Iowa was led by Ava Heiden, who went 11 for 22 for 26 points, followed by Chazadi Wright (21 points) and a double-double from senior Hannah Stuelke (15 points, 19 rebounds and six assists).
- Perfect Bracket Tracker: With Virginia's stunning win, there are now just seven perfect brackets remaining across major online games: five on ESPN and one in both the Women's Bracket Challenge Game and Yahoo.
(3) Louisville 69, (6) Alabama 68; More than 200 perfect brackets left
What a start to Monday's second round action.
No. 3 Louisville survived against No. 6 Alabama, 69-68, in a back-and-forth thriller that featured a tournament-most 18 lead changes and eight ties.
Alabama held a 35-34 halftime lead and almost the entirety of the second half was no more than a two possession game. The Crimson Tide, who went 7 for 13 from 3-point range in the first half, finished 46% from behind the arc (12 for 26), led by junior Diana Collins, freshman Ace Austin and senior Karly Weathers, who scored a combined 44 points and connected on a total of 12 3-pointers. Weathers hit a 3 in the final seconds to pull the Crimson Tide within one, but they would fall just short of their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1998.
The Cardinals, normally a strong free throw shooting team, struggled from the line, going 8 for 16 (50%) as a team. But sophomore Imari Berry hit the two biggest free throws of the day with 8.2 seconds left to give Louisville a four-point lead, enough to fend off one last push from Alabama. Louisville had a trio of double-digit scorers, led by an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double from junior Elif Istanbullluoglu, an 18-point performance from sophomore Tajianna Roberts and a nine-point, 13-rebound showing from sophomore Mackenly Randolph.
- Perfect Bracket Tracker: Most of the remaining perfect brackets had Louisville advancing to the Sweet 16. With the Cardinals' win, there are 215 perfect brackets remaining.
2nd round action continues NOW!
The other the remaining Sweet 16 spots will be clinched today. We'll be here tracking every game along with the 235 remaining perfect brackets. The higher seeds have continued to prevail throughout most of the women's tournament, but does that mean we're due for some upsets? Games start at noon EST, so stay tuned here for updates throughout the day.
Monday, March 23 (Second Round)
- 12 p.m. | No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 6 Alabama | ESPN
- 2 p.m. | No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 10 Virginia | ESPN
- 4 p.m. | No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Notre Dame | ESPN
- 5 p.m. | No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Kentucky | ESPN2
- 6 p.m. | No. 1. UConn vs. No. 9 Syracuse | ESPN
- 7 p.m. | No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Illinois | ESPN2
- 8 p.m. | No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 9 USC ;| ESPN
- 10 p.m. | No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State | ESPN
We're halfway through 2nd round; 235 brackets remain perfect
We're halfway to knowing the look of the Sweet 16.
The higher seeds were perfect, going 8-0 on the day. There were some close calls, like No. 6 Washington nearly besting No. 3 TCU, but the Horned Frogs came back to win in overtime. Fourth-seeded Oklahoma was also on the ropes to Michigan State before pulling away behind an 18 point, 10 rebound performance from Raegan Beers.
The most impressive performance belonged to Texas' Madison Booker, who dropped 40 points on the Oregon Ducks in the afternoon.
We started Sunday with around 1,700 perfect brackets, so let's see how the day shook out.
Here's how Sunday's action impacted perfect brackets:
- No. 4 North Carolina def. No. 5 Maryland — Around 1,000 perfect
- No. 2 Michigan def. No. 7 NC State — Around 900 perfect
- No. 4 Minnesota def. No. 5 Ole Miss — Fewer than 500 perfect
- No. 2 LSU def. No. 7 Texas Tech — Around 450 perfect
- No. 3 Duke def. No. 6 Baylor — More than 400 perfect
- No. 1 Texas def. No. 8 Oregon — Still more than 400 perfect
- No. 4 Oklahoma def. No. 5 Michigan State — Around 250 perfect
- No. 3 TCU def. No. 6 Washington — 235 perfect
We’ll continue to follow all games — and the remaining perfect brackets — with the second round continuing Monday with another eight-game day.
(3) TCU 62, (6) Washington 59 (OT)
OLIVIA WOAHHH 🔥😤 x 🎥 ESPN /
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)
TCU came back to beat Washington in overtime in the nightcap and advance to the Sweet 16. Olivia Miles took over in extra time, scoring or assisting on every basket during a decisive final period to lead TCU to a 62-59 comeback victory over Washington on Friday.
The Horned Frogs appeared to be in trouble late in regulation before Miles ignited a late surge. After trailing for much of the fourth quarter, TCU closed the gap behind Clara Silva and Miles, whose layup with 1:39 remaining in the fourth cut the deficit to two. Washington's Brynn McGaughy came through with a layup to make it 51-5 and then TCU failed to convert in the closing seconds, sending the game to the extra frame.
In overtime, TCU ripped off a 9-0 run to seize control. Silva started the spurt with a layup, and Taylor Bigby followed with a jumper off a Miles assist to push the lead to five. While Washington's Sayvia Sellers hit a jumper to bring the Huskies within three with 42 seconds left, TCU’s defense held firm. Miles finished the night with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Huskies struggled with late-game turnovers that thwarted their upset bid.