Math professor: Algorithms give leg up for March Madness brackets

DAVIDSON, N.C., March 10 (UPI) -- A North Carolina math professor said he and his students have been working on algorithms for March Madness basketball tournament brackets.

Professor Tim Chartier said he and his Davidson College students have been working on algorithms to help college basketball fans create the most accurate prediction brackets and they will divulge their findings Thursday at New York's National Museum of Math, the New York Post reported Monday.

Chartier said there is no perfect formula for predicting the outcome of the tournament, but the algorithms help fans take factors into account such as away game victories, ability to win against strong teams and momentum.

"You use math, but you have to use intuition as well," he said.

Chartier said one of the most important factors is strength of schedule, which he said could mean the difference between Arizona coming out on top and Florida being the tournament's final victor.

"Your strength of schedule is always going to be the main ingredient to everything," Chartier said. "And that's the same with all the other factors too."