Stats Showdown: Quick Pick Challenge

Stats Showdown Quick Pick Data Challenge is a modified version of the Nextech Stats Showdown Data Science Bracket Competition built for K-8 teachers and their students to participate in a fun, real-world data science competition.

This pared-down challenge strips away extra data from the regular competition and focuses on easy-to-understand data cards about each team.

The winning team per division (elementary and middle school) will win a trophy to display in their school, a pizza party, and bragging rights for the year!

Student Groups

This challenge is open to student groups in grades K-8 from any school throughout Indiana. Student groups could be as small as 2 students and as large as the entire class submitting one selection set. The group’s 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. This adult can be a teacher, parent or guardian or club advisor. A sponsor can work with multiple teams.

Assignment

Students will answer the question “What 4 teams in the NCAA Tournament do you think will make it to the Final Four once there are only 16 teams left?”

Before the tournament starts, student groups will look at Basketball Data Cards from the previous season to see if they can find any patterns or trends as to what makes a basketball team in the tournament do well. They will then use these thoughts and hypotheses and apply them to the current year’s Basketball Data Cards after Selection Sunday.