bracket buster
Unexpected tournament outcome
A bracket buster is a team or outcome in a tournament that defeats expectations, ruining the predictions of those who filled out brackets—especially in March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament.
A 15-seed beating a 2-seed is a classic bracket buster.
The term can also describe any surprising upset in competitive contexts: That loss was a real bracket buster.
- dark horseUnlikely but possible winner
- giant-killerOne who defeats favorites
- seedEmbryonic plant capsule
- upsetDisturb, topple, or shock
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
underdog · bracketology · Selection Sunday · overthrow · Cinderella · long shot · madness · Sweet Sixteen · Final Four · playoffs · tournament · surprise · basketball · elimination · buzzer · Cinderella story · Cinderella run · disbelief
- tournament termssemifinals, quarterfinals, finals, round robin, single elimination
- Upsetsupset, upset victory, upset win, underdog victory, underdog win
- underdogsunderdog, underdogs, Cinderella, sleeper, dark horse
- College BasketballNCAA, March Madness, Final Four, Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen
- tournament bracketsseed, seedings, second seed, top seed, higher seed
- sports dramacomeback story, underdog story, rivalry, upset, buzzer beater
bracket busterchalk
Soft sedimentary writing stone
sure thing · foregone conclusion · lock · gimme · no-brainer
bracket bustertop seed
Highest-ranked competitor
number one seed · favorite · juggernaut · powerhouse · blue blood
bracket, buster, brackets, bracketed, bracketing, bust, busts, busted, busting