A Method for Ranking Teams Based on Simple Paths

Abstract

Rankings play an important role in sports, as well as in the evaluation of proposals and the operation of search engines. How are such rankings obtained? We outline several linear algebra approaches used in sports ranking methods and then discuss in detail a model based on the graphical representation of the outcomes of team matches. Despite its simplicity, this graph-inspired ranking method produces rankings of teams that provide useful in-sights. Applications to other areas, including the ranking of webpages, are also provided.