2026 March Madness: What Makes an NCAA Tournament Champion?

“March Madness” is finally here.

Sixty-eight teams commenced play this week, all with the hopes of cutting down the nets on April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianpolis. Thirty-seven programs have won a national title since the tournament’s conception in 1939, with two of the last six winners being first-time champions — Baylor (2021) and Virginia (2019). As the popularity of the tournament has grown in recent years, there has been a focus on the statistical trends that have made up past champions.

FOX Sports Research decided to dive into all the characteristics that make up the tournament champion, examining various metrics while also taking the past into account. Let’s take a look:

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• 23 of the last 24 national champions (since 2001) ranked in the top 21 of adjusted offensive efficiency when entering the tournament; the lone exception was 2014 UConn (ranked 57th).
• 21 of the last 24 national champions (since 2001) ranked in the top 31 of adjusted defensive efficiency when entering the tournament; the three teams that did not were 2021 Baylor (ranked 44th), 2015 Duke (ranked 37th), and 2009 North Carolina (ranked 37th).
• Teams that are currently ranked in the top 21 of adjusted offensive efficiency and top 31 of adjusted defensive efficiency: Duke, Arizona, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Louisville, Iowa State, and Houston.
• Every national champion since 2001 was ranked in the top 25 of adjusted efficiency margin when entering the tournament, and 21 of the 22 were ranked in the top 20; the lone exception was 2014 UConn (ranked 25th).
• 23 of the last 24 national champions (since 1999) had a final (NOT pre-tournament) strength of schedule rating ranking inside the top 33; the lone exception was 2021 Baylor (ranked 54th).
• Teams that rank in top 21 of adjusted offensive efficiency, top 31 of adjusted defensive efficiency, top 25 of adjusted efficiency margin, and the top 33 of strength of schedule: Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Duke, Illinois, Houston, Louisville, Iowa State
• 13 of the last 18 national champions (since 2007) ranked within the top 111 of Division-I in effective height; the exceptions were 2016 Villanova (ranked 148th), 2018 Villanova (ranked 228th), 2021 Baylor (ranked 251st), 2022 Kansas (135th).
• Only two of the past 18 national champions (since 2007) ranked inside the top 150 of Division-I in bench efficiency- 2013 Louisville (ranked 149th) and 2017 North Carolina (ranked 69th).
• Only nine of the past 18 national champions (since 2007) ranked inside the top 105 of Division-I in experience — 2007 Florida (ranked 102nd), 2008 Kansas (ranked 53rd), 2009 North Carolina (ranked 60th), 2010 Duke (ranked 69th), 2014 UConn (ranked 67th), 2017 North Carolina (ranked 103rd), 2021 Baylor (ranked 85th), 2024 UConn (ranked 68th), 2025 Florida (ranked 60th)

Seeding

• 17 of the last 24 national champions (since 2001) were No. 1 seeds.
• Two teams were No. 2 seeds (2016 Villanova, 2004 UConn).
• Three teams were No. 3 seeds (2011 UConn, 2006 Florida, 2003 Syracuse).
• One team was a No. 4 seed (2023 UConn).
• One team was a No. 7 seed (2014 UConn).
• Since seeding began in 1979, 75 of the 92 teams to reach the title game have been top-3 seeds.
• Seven of the past eight champions have been No. 1 seeds, as well as 15 of the past 18.
• Eight of the 21 previous overall No. 1s lost in the Sweet 16 or earlier.
• The overall No. 1 seed has only won the NCAA Tournament four times since the committee began ranking in 2004 (2007 Florida, 2012 Kentucky, 2013 Louisville, 2024 UConn).
• No team has ever won a national championship after losing its first game in the conference tournament.
• A No. 5 seed has never won a championship, the only top-8 seed that hasn’t.

Other Trends

• Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have only been three back-to-back champions— 1991-92 Duke, 2006-07 Florida and 2024-25 UConn; excluding those teams, no defending champ has advanced past the Sweet 16.
• A Big Ten team has not won the title since Michigan State did in 2000.
• A team located west of Texas has not won the title since Arizona did in 1997.
• Since 2008, only two SEC teams have won a title— Kentucky in 2012 and Florida last season.
• Since the tournament’s conception in 1939, the average number of wins the national champion has recorded that season is 25.3; going back to 2010, the average jumps to 28.1 wins.
• Since the tournament’s conception in 1939, the average win percentage of the national champion that season is 87.1%; going back to 2010, the average drops to 85.1%.
• Since 1998 (the first year of the Big Ten tournament), 15 of the 27 national champions in that span won their conference tournament; however, only four of the last nine national champions won their conference tournament (2022 Kansas, 2018 Villanova, 2024 UConn, 2025 Florida).