"Who's number one?" is an inherent and often debated question in sports. Ranking algorithms supply mathematical answers to such questions. They can and are used to choose teams for the playoffs. They can also be used in predictive analysis. Who will win the next game? Who will win the tournament? This talk will present current and recent sports analytics research. A variety of questions will be explored. For example, how can one integrate late season momentum? Does it help to consider home field advantage? Such questions will be explored in the context of sports like soccer and basketball. In particular, we will see how such research created brackets for March Madness that beat over 90% of over 8 million brackets submitted to ESPN's online tournament.
Math for Everyone is a math-related series, especially for undergraduates. Everyone, from Fields medalists to math-phobes, is welcome to attend.