The competition kicks off this week, giving you the opportunity to grow your skills in sports analytics, and potentially help the basketball team!

Syracuse University’s iSchool is tipping-off a competition to give students a chance to apply their analytic skills towards real-world challenges. In partnership with the varsity basketball program, the competition is designed to have the student teams practice what they’ve learned, and to generate actionable insights usable by the basketball program to improve performance and strategy. Just as speed, strength, and talent are all used to gain an athletic edge, data analytics can be used to gain strategic advantages. Every bit matters in a competitive NCAA.

Jeff Saltz, an Associate Professor and one of the masterminds behind this competition says, “by working with Syracuse Basketball data, students will gain valuable experience in sports analytics while potentially uncovering insights that could influence team strategy. What makes this competition especially exciting is that students’ analyses won’t just be theoretical exercises – they could directly contribute to our basketball program’s success!”

The Details:

Why:    $1000 in cash prizes, job-relevant skills, a compelling CV line, street cred, etc.

What:   A week-long contest to generate a useful predictive model

Who:    A team of 2 to 4 students (any SU student can participate)

When:  Nov 7 to Nov 14 (but must register by Nov 6 – see below)

Where: Virtual

Next steps:

  1. Submit your team application by Nov 6: https://bit.ly/hoops-challenge
  2. Additional information will be available on Nov 7th for all teams that have registered.

Questions? Email ttulyagi@syr.edu