Eight teams in the Midwest Region were selected in more bracket Final Fours than Syracuse.
Even at the No. 10 seed, the Syracuse Orange were not exactly a popular Cinderella pick.
Less than 1 percent of all brackets in the NCAA.com's Capital One Bracket Challenge had Syracuse reaching the Final Four, and that was ninth among 16 teams in the Midwest Region alone. Gonzaga was picked at nearly twice that rate in the Midwest as an 11 seed, but in the end fell to Syracuse 63-60 in the Sweet 16.
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Among Final Four teams, North Carolina was the the most popular pick for both Final Four and championship, not surprising considering it is the only No. 1 seed in Houston. The Tar Heels were selected for the Final Four in more than half of the brackets (54.1 percent) and picked to win it all by 15.02 percent. Only Kansas and Michigan State were more popular title picks.
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At 38.29 percent, No. 2 seed Oklahoma was picked in more brackets for the Final Four than No. 1 Oregon, and Bracket Challenge participants were on to something there. The Sooners were the fifth most popular title pick at 5.18 percent of brackets, with No. 4 seed Kentucky earning the fourth spot among all brackets.
Villanova, also a No. 2 seed, was selected by 11.12 percent of brackets to make the Final Four, but the Wildcats were in the same region as Kansas, which was an overwhelming bracket favorite. Only 2.36 percent of brackets had Villanova to win the championship, behind the teams above, as well as Virginia, Oregon and Duke, in that order.
If you're interested, a miniscule amount of brackets picked all four in their bracket. That percentage is at .01, but that's also the third highest percentage in the last six years. Only 2015 and 2012 brackets did better. A relatively high 1.36 percent of all brackets picked Duke, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan State in 2015. In 2011 and 2013, there were no brackets with all four teams selected.
