Microsoft Bing is teaming up with the NCAA as the official bracket data partner of the tournament. NCAA has pulled 10 years of raw historical data about teams, tournaments, win loss ratio, home vs. away stats, etc. and provided it to Microsoft for analysis and review. Using Bing’s algorithms and leveraging machine learning, Bing team have been able to identify key patterns over the years that contribute to a team’s success. This data will be showcased following Selection Sunday with Bing’s new NCAA bracket building tool designed to help fans complete their brackets.
“We’re pleased to add Bing and its parent company Microsoft to our NCAA Corporate Partner Program as the official bracket data partner of the NCAA,” said Keith Martin, NCAA managing director of marketing and broadcast alliances. “Bing’s search services will allow fans to have some fun as they access data for their bracket selections. This new technology provides information that allows our fans to be more analytical after Selection Sunday.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Bing to the NCAA Corporate Partner family,” said Will Funk, SVP of sponsorship integration and business development, Turner Sports Ad Sales. “Their robust technology will undoubtedly provide basketball fans everywhere with a great new tool as they look to fill out their NCAA tournament brackets.”
Source: Bing