NC second-graders finish No. 5 in NCAA bracket challenge — out of 22.6 million entries
Busted brackets are a frustrating reality of March Madness — but one created in North Carolina fared better than most.
A second-grade class filled out the bracket, which tied for No. 5 among the 22.6 million entries in the ESPN men’s college basketball bracket challenge, according to rankings and an April 10 report from ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
“We’ll be able to flex our bracket to everybody in the school,” Matt Falcone, second-grade teacher at Olive Chapel Elementary School in the Raleigh suburb of Apex, told the TV station. “We’ll say our bracket was fifth in the country. What about yours?”
Falcone said he told his 18 students about the NCAA Tournament match-ups and asked them to raise their hands to signal their support for each team.
Falcone is an N.C. State University graduate, and the children kept picking his beloved Wolfpack to advance. Just as the class predicted, the ACC tourney champions made it to the Final Four on their unexpected tournament run.
Though the class’ bracket wasn’t perfect, it was spot-on when it came to the championship game, picking UConn to win over Purdue. Falcone hopes to treat his students to pizza and a watch party to celebrate their top-tier finish.
“Extremely exciting,” Noah Toppe, dad of second-grader Mason, told ABC11. “I came in 4 millionth place, which is nowhere close to fifth place out of 23 million.”
The Wake County Public School System didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on April 11.
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