> One in 9.2 quintillion. Those are the odds that you will correctly pick the winners of all 63 games played over the course of the tournament. Mathematically speaking, there are 2^63 (~9.2 quintillion) number of ways that you can fill the bracket
This is wrong. Many of the games are not even close to 50-50.
So even in the best case you list (which I share your skepticism of), you are 1,000x more likely to win the MegaMillions or Powerball jackpot than pick the perfect winning grid.
To put the odds of picking a perfect grid by hand in rough perspective, it would be like winning the lottery, boarding a plane that crashes into the ocean, being the only survivor floating in the ocean, but then are struck by lightning 3 times and yet you live, only to then be eaten by a shark, all in a single day.
So even in the best case you list (which I share your skepticism of), you are 1,000x more likely to win the MegaMillions or Powerball jackpot than pick the perfect winning grid.
That makes me wonder what odds you'd get at the bookmakers for a perfect winning grid.
I think I remember seeing a prize somewhere of an obscene amount of money (memory is hazy, but was something like over $100M, maybe even a billion) for a perfect winning grid.
This is wrong. Many of the games are not even close to 50-50.