Dordt Math and Stats Department Announces Analytics Battle Winners

Dordt University’s Mathematics and Statistics Department along with the Iowa Center for Interdisciplinary Training (ICIT) is pleased to announce the winners of the Math Madness Data Analytics Battle for grades six through 12.

Combining statistics with basketball, groups of students created algorithms using statistics from previous years to predict the top 10 teams for the 2021 NCAA March Madness tournament.

“In its fourth year, the competition continues to introduce students to data exploration and making decisions based on analytics,” said Dr. Valorie Zonnefeld, associate professor of mathematics at Dordt and promoter of the analytics battle. “I love how the competition connects with students on so many levels. Some students are interested because of the athletic aspect, others enjoy the social nature, or the competitive nature of the contest. Many students learn that they have a passion for harnessing the power of data analytics to answer questions.”

Traveling trophies are awarded to the top team scores in the large and small schools for the 10th through 12th grade categories. Dordt University aluminum water bottles are also awarded to winners in all categories.

The competition is sponsored by the ICIT and Dordt University's National Science Foundation Noyce grant. More information about the competition can be found on the competition's website.

Results for grades 10-12:

Western Christian High School: Herb's Herbs and Clarke High School: The Wannabes tied for the top team score at 189.

Chaminade College Prep (Missouri): Ringerz and Carroll High School: 3-Headed Monster tied for runner up at 188.

A school title was also awarded to the school with the highest three-team average. The champion in the small school category was Clarke High School, with a top three-team average of 180. The runner up was Chaminade College Prep with an average score of 178.33.

The champion in the large school category was Carroll High School with an average score of 182.33. The runner up was Waukee High School with an average score of 174.67.

Results for grades 6-9:

Western Christian High School: Rabid Dawgs had the top team score of 183.

Western Christian High School: Varsity Math was runner-up with a score of 182.

Ankeny’s Parkview: Basketball Thinkers and Parkview: Bulldog Bracket Busters followed closely with scores of 180 and 179 respectively.

The top three-team average came from Western Christian with a score of 177.67.

The runner up was Parkview with a score of 176.67.