This might be one of the most unpredictable NCAA Tournaments in recent history, but one stats guru believes Kentucky is one of four teams with the ingredients to make a title run.
ESPN’s Kyle Soppe examined the trends in college basketball over the past decade and came up with two criteria for national title contenders: defense (scoring defense, specifically) and free-throw shooting. He applied those to the top 25 teams in the sport and was able to eliminate 14 squads, including Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas, Auburn, and Villanova. From there, he narrowed the list further to teams that were ranked inside the AP top 15 in the preseason poll and the first poll of the new year (a trait shared by the past 11 national champions excluding UConn).