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Jimmy Fallon's Magic 8 Ball Is Picking His March Madness Bracket, Because Why Not

Will this year's method have a better success rate than last year's "fish picks?"

By Christopher Rudolph

Are you feeling the March Madness? The annual NCAA men's college basketball tournament kicked off this week, and each fan has their own unique method of filling out their brackets, choosing which team they think will go all the way.

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Among those fans is Jimmy Fallon

In 2023, the Tonight Show Host used the fish in his office to help him pick which teams might move forward in the tournament. The "fish picks" chose Kansas to beat Purdue and become the national champions, but University of Connecticut wound up taking home the title. This year, Fallon decided to try another super reliable predictor of the future: a Magic 8 Ball.

In a video posted to his social media on March 20, Fallon has the Magic 8 Ball placed in front of him with team names written on individual index cards.

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"I asked my Magic 8 Ball to help me pick my March Madness bracket this year," Fallon wrote in the post's caption. "Let’s see how far we get!"

Jimmy sits at his desk on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon episode 1857

Jimmy Fallon's bracket: Can the spirit world predict the Final Four?

Fallon starts by asking the Magic 8 Ball who'll win between UConn and Stetson. After a shake, though, the Magic 8 Ball replies with one of its classic frustrating answers: "Cannot predict now."

The all-knowing orb proclaims "Yes, definitely" when it comes to Northwestern beating Florida Atlantic. But who'll win in Drake versus Washington State? The answer is, "Reply hazy, try again."

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At one point, Fallon even tries rolling the ball to shake up the answers, spurring the Magic 8 to choose Clemson as victor over University of New Mexico.

"We're down to the Final Four," Fallon says towards the end of the clip, with some more shakes of the ball leading to UConn versus Gonzaga for the final matchup.

"Magic 8 Ball, will UConn win it all?" he says.

"Ask again later," the ball replies. Fallon does just that, returning to ask if Connecticut will be the ultimate champs as he snacks on an apple.

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"Yes! UConn you are the winners! Congratulations! Good to luck to everyone out there," Fallon declares, closing out his psychic session. 

Will the Magic 8 Ball be a better predictor than the Fallon's fish? Guess we'll find out when the NCAA championship game is played on Monday, April 8.