Six Keys to Picking the NCAA Tournament Champion

If you are like me, you are always trying to find the trend or angle that gives you a leg up on the competition in picking the eventual national champion in the tournament.

Maybe it's the record of the team in the last 10 games, maybe it's the overall record, maybe it's which team has the best player. Well, after doing a little research, here are six key things to look for in picking an eventual national champion, and keep an eye on North Carolina and Gonzaga—too bad they are in the same region.

1. The last four national champions have all had an offensive AND defensive efficiency rating in the top 20 in the nation.

Qualifiers: Missouri, Duke, West Virginia, Kansas, Connecticut, Gonzaga

Title Contenders: Missouri, Duke, Kansas, Connecticut, Gonzaga

2. The last five national champions have all finished in the top five nationally in scoring margin.

Qualifiers: North Carolina, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Gonzaga

Title Contenders: All of them

3. The last four national champions have all finished the season in the top 10 in field goal percentage.

Qualifiers: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Gonzaga, BYU, Cal, UCLA, Utah State

Title Contenders: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Gonzaga

4. The past five national champions have all been in the top 30 nationally in three-point percentage.

Qualifiers: Cal, UCLA, Xavier, Gonzaga, Utah State, Arizona, Oklahoma State

Title Contenders: Xavier, Gonzaga

5. The past six national champions have all been in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense.

Qualifiers: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Clemson, Washington, Marquette, Tennessee, Gonzaga

Title Contenders: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Missouri, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Washington, Gonzaga

6. Four of the last five national champions have been in the top 10 in rebounding margin.

Qualifiers: Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Washington, Xavier, Connecticut, North Carolina

Title Contenders: All of Them

So what are you supposed to take from all that?

Well, you can take Gonzaga to win it all. They show up in five of the six categories listed above—pretty strong. Problem for the Zags is that North Carolina is in their same region, and the Tar Heels show up in four of the six championship categories. 

Pittsburgh isn't a bad choice. They show up in two key categories, as do Connecticut and Oklahoma. All three of those are very legitimate national title contenders.

But it looks like there's a reason everyone is picking Carolina to win it all, and after looking at the stats above, it's no wonder the Heels are the odds on favorite to win the national championship again.