KenPom Trends to Know Before Filling Out Your Men’s March Madness Bracket

Every March, advanced metrics become a popular reference point for evaluating men’s NCAA Tournament teams. KenPom rankings, which measure adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, have historically revealed patterns among championship contenders and deep tournament runs. From efficiency margins to balanced offensive and defensive profiles, certain statistical benchmarks appear repeatedly among teams that advance far in the men’s March Madness bracket. Below, FOX Sports Research has broken down which KenPom trends have been most common among Final Four and national title teams. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Key Trends The following trends were found using pre-tournament KenPom data, not final rankings data: [MEN’S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] National Champion Averages Here are the average ranks in Division I of every national champion since 2001: Final Four Averages [NCAA ODDS: Latest Men’s March Madness Odds, Favorites] Teams that Fit the Bill of Past Champions Entering the tournament, there are nine teams that rank in the top 21 of adjusted offensive efficiency and top 31 of adjusted defensive efficiency: Duke Illinois Arizona Vanderbilt Michigan Florida Houston Louisville Iowa State Last 5 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions Below is a breakdown of where each of the past five national champions ranked in each major KenPom category (pre-tournament data). 2025 Florida 2024 UConn 2023 UConn 2022 Kansas 2021 Baylor