Using machine learning and computational techniques to predict a winning bracket.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball tournament is one of the most exciting parts of the year for United States sports fans, thanks in part to the annual contest to predict which teams will successfully progress through the tournament.

As one of the most wagered-upon sporting events in the U.S., an estimated 40 million Americans fill out a bracket each year to determine the ultimate champ. Busted brackets aren't uncommon due to upsets, human variability, and other unpredictable factors. In fact, the odds of randomly filling out a perfect bracket are about one in nine quintillions.

And that's where analytics comes in…

GT Faculty/Staff lead:  Professor Joel Sokol, (ISyE) and director of the Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics) degree program