(CNN) Only the first round has ended and March Madness has already brought some major setbacks.
So far, the No. 1 seed Purdue University, No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats, and No. 4 seed Virginia Cavaliers have been unceremoniously dumped from the tournament. Furman Paladins respectively.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s 63-58 victory over Purdue marked only the second time in NCAA men’s tournament history that a No. 16 defeated a No. 1, and players poured onto the field to celebrate afterwards.
“We’re just confident in what we’re doing and our guys are so tough and competitive,” FDU’s head coach Tobin Anderson told the TNT broadcast.
“I love our guys. They’re tough. They’re great. They played their tails off. That’s an incredible win. It’s incredible. We shook the world.”
Only 2.36% of completed Men’s Bracket Challenge Game entries predicted an FDU win over Purdue, the second lowest percentage of any team in the field, according to the NCAA.
The shock win also means the last hope of anyone completing the practically impossible task of predicting a perfect bracket has been completely eliminated, the NCAA noted.
Any hopes of completing a perfect series were already dented Thursday after Princeton’s 59-55 improbable victory over Arizona and the Paladins’ stunning 68-67 victory against Virginia.
Princeton defeated Arizona to advance to the second round.
Princeton’s victory alone left only 0.065% of men’s braces intact, out of millions of completed braces, according to NCAA March Madness Twitter.
“A year after all the brackets broke in Game No. 28, no one remained perfect past the 25th game of the tournament,” the NCAA said.
For much of the first half, the result had wavered on the edge before a fast start to the second half put Arizona in control.
But trailing by 10 points with eight minutes remaining, the Tigers clawed their way back into the game and pulled off a famous victory.
The Paladins also picked up their improbable victory after completing a comeback, overcoming a 12-point deficit at one stage, to topple Virginia.
“You know, this game is — interesting might be the word I’d use,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said afterwards, reflecting on his team’s defeat.
“You feel like we got it, we got it, and then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, it changes at the end.”