DELPHI, Ind. — As the sun sets on another regular season of college basketball, it's time for that annual March tradition – gathering around to find out who's in the NCAA Tournament and who's out.
To get the answers, we made a road trip to Delphi, Indiana. We found ourselves heading down into a basement overflowing with basketball talk at the Delphi Bracketology Club.
The home owner, Brian Tonsoni, is an IU basketball super fan and a high school teacher by day.
"It started in 2015 with a question between a couple econ students and myself of where Indiana, where Purdue were going to be seeded," Tonsoni said. "We said, 'You think we can figure it out?' and 'Do you want to meet over breakfast and try to find out?' That started it."
The club has become very popular. The students gather with their computers and go to work.
Elyse Perry tagged along with her brother and now she's hooked on number crunching. "I'm kind of learning that basketball isn't necessarily just a sport. There is more behind it, especially with the tournament. I always just kind of thought that they were seeded based on wins, but there's a lot more," she said.
They debate which teams should be in and they have to back it up with facts.
"It's a bunch of data, and using a spreadsheet trying to compare different sets of data," Tonsoni said. "Good wins, bad losses, nonconference strength of schedule. So it really makes people think, and that's something that, I think, young people really need to have access to, is critical thinking and decision-making."
And they make great decisions. In 2016, the Delphi Bracketology Club had the most successful bracket in the entire country.
"I think it's really cool that a group of high school people can come together and do this when, normally, it's older people, and they've been doing it forever," said Delphi student Cade Nelson. "In the next couple years of doing it, we've been successful."
"I think one year we had a perfect 68 out of 68," Tonsoni said. "The key is to select well, but it's also to seed them well on the right lines. That helps your score."
Many of the students hope to work in the sports media field in the future. They're learning about reporting just facts.
"I like Purdue but it's all based off the numbers sadly," said Delphi senior Luke Smock. "I want to help Purdue out, but looking at the numbers you can't really do it because it's all data-based.
So the next time you need help with the tournament bracket, keep in mind these college basketball number crunchers at Delphi High School. They know a thing or two about winning and losing.