Purdue University has a strange history with the best March Madness brackets of all time. The Boilermakers seem to always end up as the nail in the coffin for record-breaking brackets.

You won’t be alone if your bracket doesn’t last for long. The majority of the picks in the world will go sideways while the NCAA Tournament is still in the early stages.

But what are the best March Madness brackets of all time? How far did those players make it, and what eventually went wrong for them?

As it turns out, the Boilermakers are responsible for ruining the best brackets of all time.

Purdue wrecks best March Madness bracket of all time

Brackets are one of the most popular ways of betting on March Madness. Plenty of fans around the country will enter pools with their friends to see who comes out on top.

However, everyone who has ever created a bracket ended the tournament as a loser. Only one bracket in history managed to stay intact all the way into the Sweet 16.

Gregg Nigl, a man from Ohio, picked 49-straight correct games before finally falling flat in 2019.

Purdue’s Sweet 16 win was the nail in the coffin for Nigl’s bracket. The Boilermakers were a No. 3 seed that year when they took down No. 2 Tennessee in a 99-94 overtime game.

Carson Edwards and Purdue eventually lost in the Final Four, but not before the team managed to spoil Nigl’s bracket.

The Boilermakers are a No. 3 seed again this season, but this time around a different guard is running the show. Swap Carson Edwards for Jaden Ivey, and the Purdue faithful are hoping for another deep tournament run.

It’s worth mentioning that Nigl owns the best verifiable bracket of all time. In other words, it was a part of an online contest where you couldn’t alter your picks in between rounds.

There may have been a more successful bracket out there over the years, but it’s impossible to keep track of everything with so many private bracket pools amongst friends.

Swanigan’s Boilermakers ruin record bracket

2019 wasn’t Purdue’s first time playing the role of March Madness menace.

Before Nigl claimed the throne, the record for the best bracket of all time belonged to a 2017 player in Yahoo’s annual game. That fan managed to pick 39-straight games, and nearly made it through the first few rounds unscathed.

That is, until Purdue stepped in to set the bracket on fire.

The No. 4 Boilermakers survived a comeback effort from No. 5 Iowa State in order to advance into the Sweet 16. Caleb Swanigan led the way in that game with a monster 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Purdue would go on to lose in their next game against Kansas, but the bracket damage was already done. The team had spoiled the winningest bracket of all time by beating Iowa State.

Odds of picking the perfect March Madness bracket

Betting on college basketball is hard enough as it is, but picking a flawless bracket is next to impossible.

Your odds of picking the first-ever perfect tournament? 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 if you’re just flipping a coin to make all of your selections.

It’s an insane number of possible combinations, but that’s what makes the long-lasting brackets so impressive.

The best March Madness brackets keep running into Purdue.

The Boilermakers are once again one of the best teams in the entire country. Expectations are high, but the team could very well end up making another deep push in the tournament this year.

If someone’s picks end up on a record-breaking run this year, then Purdue could claim the final podium spot by busting a top bracket once again.