Every March Madness 2018 Game Predicted by Artificial Intelligence
An updated list of predictions for every game of the 2018 NCAA Tournament
The odds of predicting a perfect NCAA tournament bracket is anywhere from 1.28 billion to 9.2 quintillion, depending on who you ask. It’s the sort of challenge the team at San Francisco-based technology firm Unanimous A.I. wants to tackle. The company’s tech brings people together online to harness and amplify their collective intelligence, forming a hive mind that can predict results with sometimes scary accuracy.
“The biggest challenge left for swarm A.I. technology is the perfect March Madness bracket,” Louis Rosenberg, CEO of Unanimous A.I., tells Inverse. “Of course, the perfect bracket is an impossible goal, but the quest will keep pushing us to make our technology smarter.”
Here’s how the technology worked to predict the 2018 NCAA Tournament: About 50 college basketball enthusiasts collectively “swarmed” around a game. Each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. For example, here’s how the swarm decided who would win the Nevada vs. Texas game:
The swarm has low confidence that Texas will defeat Nevada.
As the users saw the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggered a psychological response. They readjusted their decision-making, building toward a consensus, which ultimately took the form of this overall prediction.
With that in mind, here’s the NCAA Tournament bracket, as chosen by a swarm of users with artificial intelligence smoothing aiding their decision-making:
Unaninimous AI's 2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket.
Above is the full bracket as chosen by the swarm put together by Unanimous AI on Wednesday, March 18, 2018, the day before the 2018 NCAA Tournament begins. For some games, the swarm chose an upset, for others, there was low confidence among the group on the outcome.
Below: Click the link of each game to see how the swarm made its choice and how confident it is in choosing the winner.
2018 NCAA Tournament: SOUTH Region Predictions
Click on the link to see the hive-mind’s prediction.
Thursday, March 15
12:40 p.m. Eastern in Dallas on truTV: No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Wright State
3:10 p.m. Eastern in Dallas on truTV: No. 6 Miami (Florida) vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago
7:10 p.m. Eastern in Boise, Idaho on CBS: No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Davidson
9:40 p.m. Eastern in Boise, Idaho on CBS: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Buffalo
Friday, March 16
2 p.m. Eastern in Nashville, Tennessee on TBS: No. 2 Cincinnati vs. No. 15 Georgia State
4:30 p.m. Eastern in Nashville, Tennessee on TBS: No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Texas
6:50 p.m. Eastern in Charlotte, North Carolina on TNT: No. 8 Creighton vs. No. 9 Kansas State
9:20 p.m. Eastern in Charlotte, North Carolina on TNT: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 UMBC
2018 NCAA Tournament: WEST Region Predictions
Click on the link to see the hive-mind’s prediction.
Thursday, March 15
1:30 p.m. Eastern in Boise, Idaho on TNT: No. 4 Gonzaga vs. No. 13 UNC Greensboro
4 p.m. Eastern in Boise, Idaho on TNT: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 South Dakota State
7:20 p.m. Eastern in Wichita, Kansas on TBS: No. 6 Houston vs. No. 11 San Diego State
9:50 p.m. Eastern in Wichita, Kansas on TBS: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 14 Montana
Friday, March 16
12:15 p.m. Eastern in Charlotte, North Carolina on CBS: No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Providence
2:45 p.m. Eastern in Charlotte, North Carolina on CBS: No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Lipscomb
7:20 p.m. Eastern in Nashville, Tennessee on TBS: No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 16 NC Central or Texas Southern
9:50 p.m. Eastern in Nashville, Tennessee on TBS: No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 Florida State
2018 NCAA Tournament: EAST Region Predictions
Click on the link to see the hive-mind’s prediction.
Thursday, March 15
6:50 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh on TNT: No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Radford
7:27 p.m. Eastern in Dallas on truTV: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin
9:20 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh on TNT: No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Alabama
9:57 p.m. Eastern in Dallas on truTV: No. 6 Florida vs. No. 11 St. Bonaventure
Friday, March 16
12:40 p.m. Eastern in Detroit on truTV: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Cal State Fullerton
1:30 p.m. Eastern in San Diego on TNT: No. 4 Wichita State vs. No. 13 Marshall
3:10 p.m. Eastern in Detroit on truTV: No. 7 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Butler
4 p.m. Eastern in San Diego on TNT: No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Murray State
2018 NCAA Tournament: MIDWEST Region Predictions
Click on the link to see the hive-mind’s prediction.
Thursday, March 15
12:15 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh on CBS: No. 7 Rhode Island vs. No. 10 Oklahoma
2 p.m. Eastern in Wichita, Kansas on TBS: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Penn
2:45 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh on CBS: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Iona
4:30 p.m. Eastern in Wichita, Kansas on TBS: No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 North Carolina State
Friday, March 16
7:10 p.m. Eastern in Detroit on CBS: No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 Bucknell
7:27 p.m. Eastern in San Diego on truTV: No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 College of Charleston
9:40 p.m. Eastern in Detroit on CBS: No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State or Syracuse
9:57 p.m. Eastern in San Diego on truTV: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 New Mexico State
