Basketball Stats Showdown 2025
The Nextech Stats Showdown competition is back for 2025! Student teams (open to 6-12th grade) will be tasked with using past tournament data (2014-2024) to create an algorithm that most accurately determines the top 10 most winningest teams in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament brackets. There are two ways to win: (1) the winning team per division (middle and high school) will win a traveling trophy to display in their school, a pizza party and bragging rights for the year and (2) the school with the highest team scores average will win a pizza party for the team members from their school.
The Nextech Stats Showdown competition is back for 2024! Student teams will be tasked with using past tournament data (2013-2023) to create an algorithm that most accurately determines the top 10 most winningest teams in the NCAA tournament bracket. There are two ways to win: (1) the winning team per division (middle and high school) will win a traveling trophy to display in their school, a pizza party and bragging rights for the year and (2) the school with the highest team scores average will win a pizza party for the team members from their school.
New this year we are adding the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament to our Stats Showdown Data Science Bracket Competition.
Student Teams
The Data Science Bracket Competition is open to teams of 2-4 students in grades 6-12 from any school throughout Indiana. This adult can be a teacher, parent or guardian or club advisor. The adult sponsor will be responsible for making sure the students comply with the rules and meet all the requirements and deadlines for the algorithm submission. A sponsor can work with multiple teams.
Assignment
Students will be asked to answer the question: “What team in each NCAA Tournament Field (men’s and women’s brackets) is going to win the most games throughout March Madness?”
Teams will be tasked with using past tournament teams’ data (2014-2024) to create an algorithm that most accurately determines the top 10 most winningest teams in each bracket. School teams will then use that algorithm and apply it to the 2025 data after Selection Sunday and submit their Top Ten list for 2025.
Prior to the announcement of the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament field, teams will submit an algorithm that will choose the ten teams from the tournament field most likely to win games. After Selection Sunday, student teams will use their algorithm to submit their team’s top ten list. Who are the top ten teams (numbered from 10 – 1, 10 being the most likely to win the most games and 1 being the least) that are going to win games in each of the men’s and women’s brackets during March Madness as determined by their number crunching?
Competition Schedule
| February 1 (or after) | The dataset is released to sponsors who are already registered, and student groups can start creating their algorithm. If sponsors register after February 1, they will receive the data set and instructions within 2 business days. |
| Friday, March 14, 2025 | Algorithms due to sponsor by end of the day. |
| Sunday, March 16, 2025 | Selection Sunday |
| No later than Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | Sponsors are provided the 2025 data sheet. |
| March 19-20, 2025 | Teams have 48 hours after the Selection Sunday team data is distributed to apply their algorithm to the data, select their top 10 teams and submit their selections (and algorithm used) to Nextech. |
| Throughout Tournament | Teams will be provided updates on Stats Showdown Data Science Bracket Competition results. |
| March 20-23, 2025 | Rounds 1 and 2 of the NCAA Tournament |
| March 27-30, 2025 | Rounds 3 and 4 of the NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16 & Elite 8) |
| Saturday, April 5, 2025 | The Final Four |
| Monday, April 7, 2025 | The Championship Game |
| Friday, April 18, 2025 | Winners notified on or before date; prizes distributed. |
Want to learn more? Watch this quick video with Stephanie Zircher and Jenna Garcia from the Nextech team.
Still have questions? Email Jenna Garcia at jenna@nextech.org
