(CNN) It’s only the first round and March Madness has already produced major upsets.
So far, No. 1 Purdue University, No. 2 Arizona Wildcats and No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers have been unceremoniously eliminated from the tournament, handing over No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 15 to Princeton Tigers and No. 13. Furman Paladins respectively.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s 63-58 win over Purdue was just the second time in NCAA men’s tournament history that a No. 1 seed beat a No. 1 seed, and its players flooded the court afterward to celebrate.
“We just believe in what we’re doing and our guys are so tough and competitive,” FDU head coach Tobin Anderson told TNT.
“I love our guys. They’re tough. They’re great. They played their tails off. It’s an unbelievable win. It’s unbelievable. We shocked the world.”
Just 2.36% of Men’s Bracket Challenge Game picks predicted FDU to beat Purdue, the second-lowest percentage of any team in the field, according to the NCAA.
The upset win also means that the last hopes of anyone accomplishing the virtually impossible task of predicting a perfect bracket have been completely eliminated, the NCAA noted.
Any hopes of a perfect bracket had already faded Thursday after Princeton’s improbable 59-55 win over Arizona and the Paladins’ stunning 68-67 victory over Virginia.
Princeton defeated Arizona to advance to the second round.
Princeton’s win alone left only 0.065% of men’s brackets intact out of millions of graduates. NCAA March Madness Twitter.
“A year after all the brackets fell in Game No. 28, no one remained perfect past the 25th game of the tournament,” said the NCAA.
The score hung on a knife edge for most of the first half before a fast start to the second half put Arizona in control.
But trailing by 10 points with eight minutes left, the Tigers clawed their way back into the game and pulled off a famous win.
The Paladins also pulled off an improbable comeback victory, overcoming a 12-point deficit at one point to topple Virginia.
“You know, this game is — interesting would be the word I would use,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said afterward, reflecting on his team’s loss.
“It feels like we got it, we got it, and then all of a sudden after a while it changes at the end.”