Faith & Values & a 3-Pointer

It’s March and that can only mean NCAA basketball madness. But this year is special: 4 of the 16 teams who made it this far are Catholic schools. At a 25% representation rate - it is just about the same % of total Catholics in the US (at 24%).


That's perfect statistical sampling! There were 11 Christian schools at the beginning of the tournament (Iona, Oral Roberts, Gonzaga, Xavier, Marquette, Belmont, Seton Hall, Villanova, Boston College, Georgetown, and Davidson), or 17% of all entrants. Of the 11, 5 are Jesuit schools (Gonzaga, Xavier, Marquette, BC, and Georgetown), or 45% of all Christian schools, and 8% of the total NCAA population (where 64=original population size). That Catholic schools are now 25% of the remaining teams, and Jesuit schools being 75% of that 25% is statistically significant and suggests a strong correlation between 3-pointers and Faith and Values.

And since we are talking about FAV and the effect on team pursuits, I think it is only apropos for the CNN FAV Girl to take a look at this phenomenon and investigate the mystical connection between victory and religion, between the physics of a shot and the intelligent design behind it, between the secular and the the sacred.

(TMI: One of the 4 remaining Catholic schools is The Shep's alma mater!)


Keywords: Delia Gallagher