If you are one of the millions of Americans that filled out a bracket for the NCAA tournament this year, your hopes of perfection were likely dashed in the round of 64.

Maybe it was the upsets from Harvard or Mercer that ruined things for you. Or perhaps it was a bad choice in a toss-up like that of No. 9 Pittsburgh besting No. 8 Colorado.

Either way, you likely joined in on the collective moan of, “No! My bracket!” after seeing a game’s final score. Now all you can do is hold on with a small glimmer of hope that everything you got right continues to go as planned.

At the end of the round of 64, 23-year-old Brad Binder held the only surviving bracket left in the Yahoo Sports pool. The next day Syracuse lost to Dayton and he was out.

Imperfection shouldn’t come as a shock though.

There are a grand total of 351 Division 1 basketball teams playing for the right to go to the NCAA tournament every year. 64 teams make it in.

To be one of those 64 teams means that you have put in the hard work and dedication to be on that stage and can beat any team put in front of you. That’s what makes the madness of college basketball in March such a wondrous thing and keeps fans glued to their TVs.

The NCAA Tournament is more or less a shortened season where everyone is going to bring their A-game, players won’t have as much time to recover, and coaches don’t have as much time to plan. That’s why any team, at any time can cause an upset.

Last year, Wichita State broke many a bracket after besting No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 13 LaSalle and No. 2 Ohio State to make it into the Final Four. This year, even though they’re a No. 1 seed, the team was still considered the underdog going against Kentucky. Had they won there would have been more brackets busted.

Wichita State beat No. 16 California Polytechnic Friday 64-37 to advance to the round of 32 against Kentucky. But make no mistake. Cal Poly earned the right to be in that arena for the first time in the schools history.

Coming into the Big West Tournament as the No. 7 seed Cal Poly crushed No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 69-38 before going on to beat UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge for a shot at the NCAA tournament. After outscoring Texas Southern 81-69 Cal Poly sent their message. They were not lucky and not a fluke. They just couldn’t keep up with the Shockers.

Although a No. 16 seed has ever beaten a No. 1 seed in tournament history, it looked for a bit like this could be the year it happened with Coastal Carolina leading Virginia 35-30 at the half. Fortunately for Virginia, a comeback in the second half led them to an 11 point win.

But with the way teams are so evenly matched and unpredictable in March, you can expect to see a huge upset when a No. 16 knocks out a No. 1. Just prepare your bracket ahead of time.