<
        >

          Men's College Basketball Blog

          Tournament Challenge: Villanova, picked in 2.56 percent of brackets to win it all, finishes on top

          play
          Williams: 'This is one of the most miraculous tournament games I've ever seen' (2:24)

          Jay Williams breaks down how Villanova's defense shut down North Carolina's ability to succeed down low and scrap together to win with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. (2:24)

          Apr 5, 2016, 12:07 AM ET

          It came down to the final second, but the Villanova Wildcats won the national championship in a thriller over the North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 on Monday night.

          How did this impact the Tournament Challenge?

          • Villanova was picked to make it to the final in 6.5 percent of brackets, well behind North Carolina, picked to advance to the championship game in 26 percent of brackets.

          • Villanova was champion in only 2.56 percent of brackets -- the eighth-most popular champ out of the entire field and third-most popular titlist among No. 2 seeds. North Carolina was the third-most popular pick to hoist the trophy.

          • 1.6 percent of brackets correctly predicted this exact final matchup, and of those, 31.86 percent picked the Wildcats to emerge victorious.

          • More users selected No. 16 Hampton to advance out of the first round than selected Villanova to win it all.

          Celebrity brackets

          • Scott Van Pelt finished first in the celebrity bracket group, and in the 96th percentile overall. He had UNC in the title game, but not winning it all.

          • No celebrity in the featured group picked the correct champion.

          • ESPN’s Kate Fagan, Ric Flair and Charlotte from WWE, Mike Greenberg of Mike and Mike and Shaq Thompson of the Carolina Panthers finished behind Van Pelt in the top five.

          • President Barack Obama finished in the 78th percentile, as he selected Kansas to win it all over UNC.

          For more information about users' picks, click here.

          And for all of your tournament coverage, click here.