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:

23 of the last 24 national champions have ranked in the top 21 of KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency (AOE) metric.21 of those 24 also ranked in the top 31 of its adjusted defensive efficiency (ADE) metric.All of the last 24 national champions ranked in the top 25 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin (AEM), which factors in both metrics along with other statistical categories.Of the last 24 national champions, 14 have ranked in the top 100 of adjusted tempo ranking but six have ranked 200th or worse.Of the last 24 national champions, only three ranked in the top 60 of KenPom’s non-conference strength of schedule rating.Of the last 24 national champions, 11 ranked in the top 100 of KenPom’s luck rating.Of the 25 double-digit seeds to have made the Sweet 16 from non-major conferences since 2001, the average adjusted offensive efficiency rank for those teams was 63.48, the average adjusted defensive efficiency rank was 79.76, the average adjusted efficiency margin rank was 55.08, and the average adjusted tempo rank was 168.16.

[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:

Adjusted offensive efficiency: 8.25Adjusted defensive efficiency: 16.33Adjusted efficiency margin: 5.17Adjusted tempo: 133.79Final Four AveragesAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 18.47Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 22.96Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 11.24Adjusted tempo rank: 170.57

[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: 

DukeAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 4Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 2Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 1

Cameron Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

IllinoisAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 2Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 28Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 7ArizonaAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 5Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 3Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 2VanderbiltAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 7Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 31Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 12MichiganAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 8Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 1Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 3

Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

FloridaAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 9Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 6Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 4HoustonAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 14Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 5Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 5LouisvilleAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 19Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 25Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 19Iowa StateAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 21Adjusted defensive efficiency rank: 4Adjusted efficiency margin rank: 6

Milan Momcilovic of the Iowa State Cyclones.(Photo by Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

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 FloridaAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 1stAdjusted defensive efficiency rank: 10thAdjusted efficiency margin rank: 2ndAdjusted tempo rank: 59thNon-conference strength of schedule rank: 237thLuck rating rank: 100th2024 UConnAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 1stAdjusted defensive efficiency rank: 11thAdjusted efficiency margin rank: 1stAdjusted tempo rank: 329thNon-conference strength of schedule rank: 83rdLuck rating rank: 95th2023 UConnAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 6thAdjusted defensive efficiency rank: 18thAdjusted efficiency margin rank: 4thAdjusted tempo rank: 210thNon-conference strength of schedule rank: 208thLuck rating rank: 304th2022 KansasAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 6thAdjusted defensive efficiency rank: 29thAdjusted efficiency margin rank: 6thAdjusted tempo rank: 68thNon-conference strength of schedule rank: 49thLuck rating rank: 88th2021 BaylorAdjusted offensive efficiency rank: 3rdAdjusted defensive efficiency rank: 44thAdjusted efficiency margin rank: 4thAdjusted tempo rank: 179thNon-conference strength of schedule rank: 258thLuck rating rank: 80th