Butler University Upset Also Destroys Autistic Kid's Perfect Bracket Chances

Every year, fans of NCAA basketball eagerly try to fill out their brackets,hoping that they'll win prizes, bragging rights in their offices and at parties. But having a perfect bracket, predicting the winning team for every single game, is very, very difficult. The odds against such a feat are the subject of some controversy but in betting terms, the chances would be outside the range of even a very long shot.

Even so, a 15 year old Chicago boy named Alex Hermann seemed to be an autistic kid with unique skills. He had a perfect bracket for the first two rounds, according to NBC sports. He'd predicted an uncanny 48 out of 48 games correctly - every single game in the first two rounds. He modestly chalked up his achievement to being good at math.

Unfortunately, he entered a brackets game with no prize attached so he got only fame, not fortune, for his efforts. In comparison, if he'd entered another CBS brackets game he could have won $5000 per round. The kid now leading Google and other searches for the "autistic kid with the perfect bracket" could have been in the running for a million dollars from Yahoo for those with a perfect bracket. By all standards, his feat was amazing and will remain one for the record books.

But Thursday night changed everything. One game destroyed ongoing chances of a perfect bracket in future rounds for Alex Hermann. He'd predicted that first-seeded Syracuse would keep winning and beat out fifth-seeded Butler University. Unfortunately....

Butler University's Surprise Win Over Syracuse Upset Alex Hermann's Perfect Bracket Chances

It would have been remarkable if Alex Hermann would have continued to predict each game's winner and continued with his perfect bracket. But when fifth-seeded Butler University, a small school without the huge university budget of a school like Syracuse, pulled off a major upset, it was a pretty spectacular feat.

Tonight brought back images of the movie Hoosiers, a tale of another small Indiana team, Milan Central, which beat Muncie Central, a team with a far more more powerful reputation. It was a thrill to see Butler beat Syracuse in a very suspenseful game. Final score? 63-59, with Butler winning.

Ironically, parts of the movie, Hoosiers, was filmed at Butler, in the Hinkle fieldhouse. I'd attended Butler University, watched several games there and could even recall when there were open casting calls for extras for that movie. Everyone was all abuzz when Gene Hackman, who played the coach of the Milan Central team, came to town to film his role.

At Times, the Butler Bulldogs Sweet Sixteen Win Didn't Seem a Sure Thing

Plenty of people besides Alex Hermann, the autistic kid with the perfect bracket (till now) wrote off Butler University. How could they not be seen as underdogs, being a fifth seed going up against a first seed? How could people not consider Syracuse, with the larger school and sports program, to be a sure thing? There were some incredible 3 point baskets from Syracuse that put Butler's win into potential jeopardy and the game was very close at certain points.

But Butler kept playing relentlessly, even after Syracuse got into the lead at some points. Now the small college team is just one game away from making it into the Final Four. Could this be a repeat of a Hoosiers type story line again? The Butler Bulldogs will be facing second seed Kansas State on Saturday and fans will be watching eagerly to see if Butler can continue its winning streak.

Sources:

Autistic teen 48 for 48 in NCAA Tourney Bracket, March 25, 2010, NBC Sports, here
Butler Serves up Surprise Win Over Syracuse, Reuters, March 26,2010, here
Personal experience, memories of Hoosiers casting calls