The NCAA men's basketball season starts with 327 college teams all dreaming of making it to "the big dance" and attaining the National Championship. Sixty-four teams are selected for the tournament, and only one wins it all. (Assume that every team has an equal chance.)
(a) What are the odds against a team being selected for the tournament?
(b) What are the odds of a team that is in the tournament winning the National Championship?
a) 1 - 64/327 = ?
b) 1/64
A).2%
B).02%
a. 263:64
b. 1:63
To answer these questions, we need to calculate the probabilities involved.
(a) Odds against a team being selected for the tournament:
In this case, we have 327 teams, and only 64 of them will be selected for the tournament. We can calculate the odds against a team being selected by dividing the number of teams not selected by the number of teams selected.
Odds against = Number of teams not selected / Number of teams selected
Number of teams not selected = 327 - 64 = 263
Number of teams selected = 64
Odds against = 263 / 64
Simplified, the odds against a team being selected for the tournament are approximately 4.1 to 1.
(b) Odds of a team winning the National Championship:
In the tournament, there are 64 teams competing for the National Championship, but only one team can win. Similar to the previous question, we can calculate the odds by dividing the number of teams that will not win by the number of teams that will win.
Odds of winning = Number of teams not winning / Number of teams winning
Number of teams not winning = 63
Number of teams winning = 1
Odds of winning = 63 / 1
Simplified, the odds of a team that is in the tournament winning the National Championship are 63 to 1.