19 of the last 22 NCAA Champions were ranked in the Top 6 of the KenPom rankings entering the tournament.  Here are the Top 6 this year:

1.  Duke

2. Florida 

3. Houston 

4. Auburn 

5. Tennessee 

6. Alabama 

2002 - Maryland (#3)
2003 - Syracuse (#20)
2004 - Connecticut (#5)
2005 - North Carolina (#2)
2006 - Florida (#6)
2007 - Florida (#2)
2008 - Kansas (#1)
2009 - North Carolina (#3)
2010 - Duke (#2)
2011 - Connecticut (#16)
2012 - Kentucky (#1)
2013 - Louisville (#2)
2014 - Connecticut (#25)
2015 - Duke (#6)
2016 - Villanova (#5)
2017 - North Carolina (#3)
2018 - Villanova (#2)
2019 - Virginia (#1)
2021 - Baylor (#2)
2022 - Kansas (#3)
2023 - Connecticut (#4)

2024 - Connecticut (#1)

Hum what is UConn ranked this year?

14 hours ago, 5thIndian said:

Hum what is UConn ranked this year?

34th, but I've got to see them dead before I believe they won't win the title!

On 3/17/2025 at 12:30 AM, Randy Parker said:

19 of the last 22 NCAA Champions were ranked in the Top 6 of the KenPom rankings entering the tournament.  Here are the Top 6 this year:

1.  Duke

2. Florida 

3. Houston 

4. Auburn 

5. Tennessee 

6. Alabama 

Pretty safe bet we'll make it 20/23 after this season looking at that list. 

16 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Pretty safe bet we'll make it 20/23 after this season looking at that list. 

Agreed. I think you're reaching if you pick someone to win it all that isn't on this list.

On 3/17/2025 at 12:30 AM, Randy Parker said:

19 of the last 22 NCAA Champions were ranked in the Top 6 of the KenPom rankings entering the tournament.  Here are the Top 6 this year:

1.  Duke

2. Florida 

3. Houston 

4. Auburn 

5. Tennessee 

6. Alabama 

So this year is going to be 20 out of 23 teams, since the Top 4 is the Final Four.

This will be interesting to monitor going forward. The four teams standing according to the KenPom rankings are all historically great (4 of the top 7 KP rankings of all-time). This year's Duke team is #1 all time, unseating the 2015 UK team. With the portal, NIL, etc. you have to wonder how it will continue shifting the metric.

In the Elite 8, the only team not in the top 8 of the KenPom rankings was Texas Tech. They were #9.

 

2002 - Maryland (#3)
2003 - Syracuse (#20)
2004 - Connecticut (#5)
2005 - North Carolina (#2)
2006 - Florida (#6)
2007 - Florida (#2)
2008 - Kansas (#1)
2009 - North Carolina (#3)
2010 - Duke (#2)
2011 - Connecticut (#16)
2012 - Kentucky (#1)
2013 - Louisville (#2)
2014 - Connecticut (#25)
2015 - Duke (#6)
2016 - Villanova (#5)
2017 - North Carolina (#3)
2018 - Villanova (#2)
2019 - Virginia (#1)
2021 - Baylor (#2)
2022 - Kansas (#3)
2023 - Connecticut (#4)
2024 - Connecticut (#1)
2025 - Florida (#2)