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Tournament Challenge: Kentucky's loss eliminates another popular title pick

It might not look like a big upset on paper, but 5-seed Indiana’s win over 4-seed Kentucky made a serious impact on a large number of Tournament Challenge entries.

This particular game was one of the more popular second-round matchups among the 13 million entries, as 88.3 percent of all brackets featured IU and UK playing for the right to move on to the Sweet 16. However, the Wildcats were picked to advance from the second round in nearly 68 percent of all entries, while the Hoosiers were tabbed to move on in only 28 percent.

Kentucky’s loss means:

  • Over 1.1 million players lost one of their championship game picks.

  • 5.1 percent of entries lost their eventual champion.

Those who picked Kentucky to defeat Indiana stuck with them until the end, as the Wildcats were ninth-most popular among Sweet 16 picks, but moved up to fifth-most popular among title-game winners. The only champions more popular were Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Early losses for Michigan State and Kentucky busted the brackets for over 27 percent of participants who selected them to win it all, meaning over a quarter of players lost their champion before Sunday of the first weekend.

The five most popular remaining picks to win it all are:

  • Kansas (25 percent)

  • North Carolina (14.6 percent)

  • Oklahoma (6.1 percent)

  • Virginia (4.7 percent)

  • Oregon (3.4 percent)

Indiana will take on the winner of UNC/Providence in the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers are only expected to make it to the Elite 8 in 7.8 percent of brackets.

President Obama's bracket: The wins by Indiana and Iowa State, which defeated Arkansas-Little Rock, dropped President Obama’s bracket to the 78th percentile, as he is 2-for-4 on Saturday. The President had Purdue winning and advancing to the Sweet 16, which was blocked by Arkansas-Little Rock’s first-round upset of the Boilermakers.