NFL OTs, Sharks vs. Capitals Thriller Results Lead First-Ever Thuuz Sports Monthly Most Exciting Rankings

Thuuz Sports, the most powerful automated video highlights production platform for worldwide sports, today announced a new monthly feature measuring the most exciting games across all broadcast sports events. Using their custom designed algorithms to measure real-time event excitement, Thuuz will provide a unique look into what games have gotten fans the most excited and engaged as 2019 rolls along.  In January, the two NFL League Championship overtime thrillers led the top ten, followed by the NHL matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. The NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets were the only two teams to make it on to the list twice for the month, and two men’s college basketball games also cracked the list.

Interestingly, of the ten most exciting games, NINE were won by the visiting team.

The game excitement ratings are measured on a 0 to 100 scale and take into consideration game pace, team parity, play novelty, momentum shifts, social buzz, and historical context. The algorithms behind the excitement ratings are statistically calibrated to insure the appropriate distribution of ratings across the duration of a season or course of a tournament.

“We are all about quantifiable excitement at Thuuz, and we think this monthly look will help all our partners, and even fans and teams, get more insight into what events are capturing interest,” said Thuuz CEO Warren Packard. “Our AI engine gives us the ability to look at thousands of real-time matchups every month, and these snapshots will be a new, fun and important way to communicate these results to all.”

Using the Thuuz excitement measurement platform, the top ten most exciting games were:

1. Patriots 37, Chiefs 31 (NFL): 1/20: KC was shutout in the 1st half, but stormed back in a thrilling offensive 2nd half to tie the game with 8 seconds left and send it to OT. The Patriots won the OT toss, and Tom Brady drove the Pats right down the field to win the game and send New England to the Super Bowl.
2. Rams 26, Saints 23 (NFL): 1/20: After an obvious pass interference call was missed by the officials, the Saints took a 3 point lead on a FG. The Rams tied the game with a 48 yard FG, before a Drew Brees interception led to a Rams 57 yard FG to send LA to the Super Bowl.
3. Sharks 7, Capitals 6 (NHL): 1/23: San Jose scored with 1 second left to send the game to overtime tied 6-6, after being down 2 goals in the 3rd period. They completed the comeback in OT with Tomas Hertl scoring the game winning goal to record a hat trick. Alex Ovechkin also recorded a hat trick.
4. Thunder 147, Spurs 154 (NBA): 1/10: This was an incredibly high scoring, double OT game that ended in a Spurs win. San Antonio was led by LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored a career high 56 points.
5. Thunder 117, 76ers 115 (NBA): 1/19: Matchup between between 2 teams that do not like each other due to recent rivalry between their 2 stars, Westbrook and Embiid. OKC had a 3 point lead with 16 seconds remaining, but the 76ers tied the game on 3 Embiid FT’s. Philly got a steal on the ensuing possession, and took the lead on a Jimmy Butler layup. Paul George had a 4-pt play with 5 seconds remaining to put Thunder back on top for good.
6. Rockets 135, Warriors 134 (NBA): 1/3: Rockets clawed their way back in Oakland after having been down by double digits to force an overtime. In OT, James Harden hit what Warriors head coach Steve Kerr described as an “impossible” shot with 2 seconds remaining in OT to give the Rockets a win.
7. Eagles 16, Bears 15 (NFL): 1/6: Eagles scored late to take a 1 point lead. After a failed 2-pt conversion, Chicago drove down the field but had a potential game-winning FG blocked at the end of regulation as the Eagles escaped Chicago with a victory.
8. Duke 80, Florida St 78 (NCAAMB): 1/12: Top 15 matchup between 2 ACC rivals was close the whole way, and with 2 seconds remaining Florida St had a 1 pt lead. However, Duke hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to secure an impressive road victory.
9. Marquette 106 Creighton 104 (NCAAMB): 1/9: #21 Marquette was losing 85-80 with 9 seconds to go, before scoring 5 quick points, including hitting a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to OT. Marquette ended up beating unranked Creighton in OT behind a Big East record 53 points from star point guard Markus Howard.
10. Nets 145, Rockets 142 (NBA): 1/16: The resilient Brooklyn Nets were down 8 points in the final minute of regulation, down 7 with less than 90 seconds to go in OT, and improbably walked out of Houston with a victory. Spencer Dinwiddie (BKN) hit a 3-pointer on 3 straight possessions with under a minute to go to help send the game to OT, where the Nets were able to battle back and overcome 58 points from James Harden.