NCAA tournament bracket leaks during selection show

Nearly an hour before the full bracket for the 2016 NCAA tournament was announced on CBS’s selection show, it was leaked online.

Nearly an hour before the full bracket for the 2016 NCAA tournament was announced on CBS’s selection show, it was leaked online.

Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, one Twitter user posted an image of a bracket with a completed field, which appeared to come from the NCAA’s website. It was quickly circulated around the web.

The NCAA acknowledged the leak following the conclusion of CBS’s broadcast on Sunday, and said it would investigate the matter.

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“We go through great lengths to prevent the tournament field from being revealed early and the NCAA took its usual measures to protect this from happening,” the NCAA said in a statement. “Unfortunately, and regrettably, the bracket was reveled prior to our broadcast partners having the opportunity to finish unveiling it. We take this matter seriously and we are looking into it.”

CBS Sports also said it was aware of the leak.

CBS Sports said it was aware of the bracket leak but the leak did not change the production of the show.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) March 14, 2016

Turner Sports’s coverage of the tournament begins on Tuesday with the First Four on truTV. You can view the broadcast assignments here.

– Kenny Ducey