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arts & culture
KANSAN.COM |MONDAY,APRIL 3,2017
Aries (March 21-April 19) Discuss domestic plans with family over the next
few days. Fantasies abound, with Venus in Pisces for a month. Maintain mystery. Enjoy quiet time.
Taurus (April 20-May
what you love.
Gemini
Get into conversation today and tomorrow. New developments require a response. You're extra popular this next month, with Venus in Pisces. Share
a level.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) The next few days get profitable. Take on more responsibility this month, with Venus in Pisces. Watch for higher-paying career opportunities. You can rise a level
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Jonathan Templin, an associate professor in the school of education, developed a statistical model to attempt predictions of NCAA tournament games
(June 21-July 22)
Set goals, and plan your next adventure. Travel, explore and study this month, with Venus in Pisces. You're more confident today and tomorrow. Discover new
How an associate professor predicted Gonzaga's NCAA tournament run
world
Leo
(July 23-Aug.22)
(July 23-Aug. 22)
Review family finances this month, with Venus in Pisces, and discover ways to save. Increase your assets.
Finish old projects and rest today and tomorrow
today and tomorrow.
Virgo
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Teamwork comes together today and tomorrow. Partnerships flow with greater ease this next month, with Venus in Pisces. Collaborate on creative projects. Compromise on details.
Libra
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Abandon old fears. Plan for two days in the professional spotlight. Get into a fun, creative work phase with Venus in Pisces. Get physical
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
physical
Scorpio
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today and tomorrow are good for expanding your territory. You're especially lucky in love, with Venus in Pisces. Share beauty with family and friends.
family and friends.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Make financial plans with
take financial plans with your partner today for action tomorrow. You're more domestic, with Venus in Pisces. Prioritize family. Your home can become
your love nest.
Capricorn
Aquarius
Capiturn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The next two days favor negotiations and compromise. Communications flow with ease, with Venus in Pisces for the next month. You're especially brilliant.
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Pick up the pace and get moving through tomorrow.
The next month, with Venus in Pisces, offers profitable possibilities. Discover your peak performance zone.
(Feb. 19-March 20) You feel especially beloved this next month, with Venus in your sign. Try a new style or look. You're irresistible, especially today and tomorrow.
Pisces
BRIANNA CHILDERS @breeanuhh3
W with the 77-73 win over South Carolina Saturday,
Gonzaga men's basketball reached their first national title game in the school's history. But, according to a statistical model built by Associate Professor Jonathan Templin, Gonzaga may have been destined to taste their first national title before the first tournament tipoff.
Templin said the model works by looking at the
Templin, an associate professor of educational psychology and longtime sports fan, created the statistical model to accurately predict the results of the NCAA's March Madness tournament. He said he started working on the model about two years ago, but this year he actually put it to use.
scores of each team during a game, and then looking at each team's offensive and defensive outputs.
"We essentially try to model that directly and we model an offensive strength versus a defensive strength," Templin said.
He said it also looks at data like who is playing in the game and where the game is being played, whether at home or away. Another factor is how consistently a team is playing offensively and defensively.
Templin used the example of Kansas and Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen.
"For instance, KU is a very consistent team this year and we try to model how much variability there can be around that score," he said. "So the model would think KU is very consistent at scoring but also scoring very consistently close to the other
teams and we make a prediction based on all of that."
Lesa Hoffman, associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the model differs from other statistical models in that there is a reliance on actual previous performances to make predictions, rather than metrics that may or may not have any logical basis.
We model an offensive strength versus a defensive strength."
Jonathan Templin Associate Professor
"Normally in research we want to use predictors to explain variability, without necessarily considering how the model makes predictions
for particular subjects or entities," Hoffman said.
As for the accuracy of the model, Templin said it's currently at about 75 percent, which is what he expected.
This year, his model shows Gonzaga coming out on top against North Carolina on Monday, April 3 in Phoenix.
Despite the overwhelming accuracy already in place, there is still an opportunity to add factors not yet incorporated in the model.
"Things like time in the season, changes of coaches, player injuries at certain games," Hoffman said. "These things may affect a given game's result beyond just which teams are playing."
Templin said he hopes by next year they can have the model at 80 percent accuracy and accessible for others to use. As for applying the model to other aspects of life and research. Templin said he would like to use the model to diagnose whether people have psychiatric disorders.
"It's a hobby so I enjoy it myself, but from the job angle, I think that what I hope would happen is spur more interest in how the model works and how to learn how to create something like that," Templin said.
Templin said what he thinks makes this model unique compared to others is that it's the merging of predicting the result and how consistent that will be.
That consistency factor really does make the difference for me in that a lot of models out there tend to treat consistency as the same for everybody, and that's just not the case in a lot of data or in life," Templin said. "So if we can use that to our benefit we can make it better."
Sam Smith cover wins KU's Got Talent
JOSH MCQUADE
@L0neW0lfMcQuade
Savanna Smith/KANSAN Wen-Ting Ong (left) and Alexis Alfaro (right) won first place during KU's Got Talent on Friday night.
In a night full of musical and visual performances from University students on Friday, March 31, only one competing team was able to come on top: singing and piano duo Wen-Ting Ong and Alexis Alfaro with Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down."
Twelve song, dance and Yo-Yo performances competed for the top prize of $400 at KU's Got Talent Friday night in Woodruff Auditorium. A panel of three judges — Jon Sabillon, the communications coordinator of the University Career Center; Nikita Haynie, assistant director of the University Career Center; and John Dillingham, advisor at KJHK — observed and provided feedback for each performance. The master of ceremonies for the night was Zana Pascoe, a representative for Student Admissions.
The 2016 champion of KU's Got Talent returned to the stage once again in an attempt to reclaim his title using with his dance moves and Yo-Yo. Patrick Canny walked onto the stage with just a yoyo
in his hand as Pascoe introduced his act. As soon as the music started, Canny mesmerized the audience with his fluid, sharp moves. Each trick Canny performed had the audience cheering and gasping.
"That is the loudest I have heard [the audience] all night," Pascoe said after Canny's performance.
However, even though Canny was unable to reclaim his first place title, he was able to score second place and win "crowd favorite."
Before Canny, the night opened up with the two-man band of Jaden Nussbaum and Drew Hafling performing a cover of "Best for Last," by Adele. Hafling's smooth-yetloud piano melded well with Nussbaum's powerful voice. Sabillon said the two seemed very comfortable with one another while on stage.
One of the standout performances of the night was the hip-hop dance by Blair Armstrong, performing her routine to Nicki Minaj's "Did It On 'Em." Armstrong's performance was smooth, matching her body's movements with the beat of the music. Dillingham said he enjoyed how her performance displayed her personality to the audience. Armstrong finished third in the competition.
The champions of the night, Ong and Alfaro, were the second piano-vocal duo of the night, with a rendition of Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down." Ong and Alfaro said that while they perform to win, they also aim to encourage and inspire with their act.
While the song is familiar.
Kylie Fogo, a freshman from Denver in attendance Friday night, said she thought the performances went very well and that some great talent showed up for the competition.
Alfaro made the song into his own using elements of opera and his wide vocal range. Ong's performance on the piano matched well with the power of Alfaro's voice. Ong went on to perform a short solo at the end of the song.
Fogo said Ong was her favorite performance of the night. Sabillon said he felt as if he was "riding a stallion through the desert" while listening to the duo's performance.
The night ended with first, second and third place receiving their awards, closing out the 12 performances that displayed the best of the University.
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