College Basketball Data (CBB)

Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, conference IDs, team IDs, and data shapes.

Setup

Before first use, check if the CLI is available:

which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills

If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:

python3 --version  # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills

No API keys required.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills cbb get_scoreboard
sports-skills cbb get_rankings
sports-skills cbb get_standings --group=23

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:

• Season year is derived from the system prompt's currentDate — never hardcoded.
• For standings, the group parameter is set to the correct conference ID (see references/api-reference.md).
• If only a team name is provided, use get_teams to resolve the team ID.

Choosing the Season

Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-28 → current year is 2026).

• If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
• If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The CBB season runs November–April. If the current month is November or December, use season = current_year + 1. If January–April, use season = current_year. If May–October (offseason), use season = current_year (most recently completed season).

Important: College vs. Pro Differences

• Standings are per-conference — use the group parameter to filter
• Rankings replace leaders — college uses AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll
• Ranked teams have a rank field (null = unranked) on scoreboard competitors
• 360+ D1 teams — many games per day during the season (50+ during conference play)
• March Madness — NCAA Tournament runs in March/April with 68 teams

Commands

See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.

Official NCAA Backend

The get_ncaa_* commands read the NCAA's own endpoints (data.ncaa.com + sdataprod.ncaa.com) — coverage ESPN does not carry:

• D2 and D3 scoreboards via division="d2"/"d3" — ESPN's college coverage is D1-centric.
• Both scoreboards now return all of Division I by default — the ESPN-backed get_scoreboard/get_schedule previously inherited ESPN's Top-25-only un-grouped default (1 game on an ordinary Friday instead of ~24). Pass group explicitly for a narrower ESPN grouping.
• The official March Madness bracket with live scores: get_ncaa_bracket.
• Official game detail: get_ncaa_game, get_ncaa_boxscore, get_ncaa_play_by_play.
• The schools index (~1,200 schools, all divisions): get_ncaa_schools.

NCAA game ids (from get_ncaa_scoreboard) and ESPN event ids share nothing — join on game date plus team names. Game-detail and bracket commands ride NCAA's GraphQL persisted queries, whose hashes rotate when ncaa.com redeploys; when that happens those commands say so explicitly while the scoreboard/schedule commands keep working.

Examples

Example 1: Current rankings User says: "What are the college basketball rankings?" Actions:

1. Call get_rankings() Result: AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll with rank, previous rank, record, and points

Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me SEC basketball standings" Actions:

1. Derive season year from currentDate
2. Call get_standings(group=23, season=<derived_year>) (group 23 = SEC) Result: SEC standings with W-L records per team

Example 3: Today's scores User says: "What are today's college basketball scores?" Actions:

1. Call get_scoreboard() Result: All live and recent CBB games with scores and ranked status

Example 4: Team roster User says: "Show me Duke's roster" Actions:

1. Call get_team_roster(team_id="150") Result: Full Duke roster with name, position, jersey number

Example 5: March Madness futures User says: "Who's favored to win March Madness?" Actions:

1. Call get_futures(limit=10) Result: Top National Championship contenders with odds values

Example 6: Team statistics User says: "Show me Duke's team stats" Actions:

1. Derive season year from currentDate
2. Call get_team_stats(team_id="150", season_year=<derived_year>) Result: Duke's season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages

Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these

• get_odds / get_betting_odds — not available. For prediction market odds, use the polymarket or kalshi skill.
• search_teams — does not exist. Use get_teams instead.
• get_box_score — does not exist. Use get_game_summary instead.
• get_player_ratings — does not exist. Use get_player_stats instead.
• get_ap_poll — does not exist. Use get_rankings instead.

If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.

Error Handling

When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:

1. If no events found, check if it's the off-season (CBB runs November–April)
2. If standings are empty without a group filter, try a specific conference
3. During March Madness, the scoreboard will have tournament games
4. Only report failure with a clean message after exhausting alternatives

Troubleshooting

Error: sports-skills command not found Cause: Package not installed Solution: Run pip install sports-skills

Error: No games found on scoreboard Cause: CBB is seasonal (November–April); off-season scoreboard will be empty Solution: Use get_rankings or get_news year-round; check get_schedule for when the season resumes

Error: Too many games returned — hard to filter Cause: During the season, 50+ games per day are scheduled Solution: Use --group to filter by conference, or --limit to cap results

Error: Rankings empty Cause: Rankings are published weekly during the season (November–March) only Solution: Use get_news in the offseason; rankings resume in November