It is March. The most beautiful month of the year. The magic, the hope, the betrayal. This month has everything, including a full order of "onions!" calls from Bill Raftery. We've long said that the best way to gear up for the best month of the year is with a grab-bag of lists.
Let's dive into 68 things you need to know ahead of March Madness, beginning with the four most likely teams to win the national championship and their average height rankings. They happen to be the four best defensive teams, too.
The big dawgs, literally and figuratively
1. Michigan (27-2, 30th-tallest team): Dusty May has built a special defensive club. Michigan's guards are strong and fast. Michigan's bigs are enormous and mobile. Yaxel Lendeborg is the ultimate problem-solver, who can pick up opposing point guards for all 94 feet at 6-foot-9. If Michigan wins the title, the defense will be the catalyst.
2. Duke (27-2, second-tallest team): Jon Scheyer has this Blue Devils group humming. Cameron Boozer is running away with National Player of the Year honors, and this Duke defense has turned a corner from a good unit into a nasty outfit.
3. Arizona (27-2, eighth-tallest team): Big people move little people, and Arizona has some maulers. 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas is one of the best defensive players in college basketball, but Tommy Lloyd's crew has big, strong, physical dudes all over the floor. Freshman Ivan Kharchenkov is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound TANK on the wing.
4. Florida (23-6, 13th-tallest team): The Gators have won 18 of 20. They believe they have the best frontcourt in America, and it's hard to argue with the type of ball Tommy Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu bring to the floor every night. Florida utterly dominates teams on the glass and in the paint. Now that it's gotten a jolt of shot-making from its embattled guards, Florida has transformed into a game-wrecker.
Popular Final Four contenders, with a flaw or two
5. Houston (24-5): Houston's guard play is as good as it gets with Kingston Flemings, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, plus this is still a Kelvin Sampson defense. But the depth isn't special, and Houston's offense has to take a million jumpers.
6. UConn (27-3): Dan Hurley has tons of shooting on this squad, and Tarris Reed can be a monster in the paint. When UConn limits the turnovers and executes the gameplan defensively, it's nasty.
7. Illinois (22-7): Freshman guard Keaton Wagler has been a revelation, booming into a lottery-pick talent. Illinois is jam-packed with size and shooting, so when it can find a mismatch, you're in for a long night. Illinois' front line is skilled, but can it be tough enough to out-muscle some of the gargantuan frontcourts that could be in the path? That's the concern.
8. Iowa State (24-5): Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Tamin Lipsey are staples for this Iowa State club, but the role players are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
9. Michigan State (23-5): Jeremy Fears Jr. is one of the smartest point guards in the land, Coen Carr dunks the ever-living cover off the rock, Carson Cooper is so much better in the paint, and Tom Izzo's kind of good at winning games in March.
Capable and talented, but the draw is everything
10. Alabama (22-7): When it's humming, Alabama's offense can scoot. Labaron Philon can cook anybody, especially when he's surrounded by sharpshooters like Labaron Philon, Amari Allen and Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who can all make it rain. But Alabama can't rebound to save its life. That's going to be a problem.
11. Purdue (22-6): When Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn are cooking, Purdue feels inevitable. You're just praying to the basketball Gods for a miss. But Purdue isn't athletic enough on the perimeter, and it doesn't make anyone uncomfortable. That's nerve-wracking heading into March.
12. Kansas (21-8): KU is a tall team, but it doesn't have a ton of bricks in its britches. Both Cincinnati and Arizona have big-boy'd Kansas in paint during the last seven days alone. If Kansas can avoid a dynamic front-line, it will have a shot. Do you really want to play Darryn Peterson, Melvin Council, Flory Bidunga and Bill Self in March? Yeah, me neither.
13. There are currently 33 Division I freshmen averaging at least 15 points. It's on pace to be the most in any season in Division I history. The current record is 26 diaper dandies in the 2017-18 campaign.
14. There are 10 teams in the current AP Poll with a freshman as its leading scorer, the most in any single AP Poll since at least 2002-03.
15. If Arizona and Duke earn a No. 1 seed, this will be the first NCAA Tournament ever with multiple No. 1 seeds that have a freshman operating as the leading scorer. Boozer is the head honcho for Duke. Brayden Burries is leading the way for Arizona at 15.5 points per game.
16. Only three freshmen have ever led a National Championship-winning team in scoring: Duke's Jahlil Okafor, Kentucky's Anthony Davis and Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony. That is firmly within reach this year.
17. Duke's Cameron Boozer is averaging 22.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He'd become the first underclassman since Larry Bird to eclipse the 20-10-4 threshold.
18. BYU's AJ Dybantsa (25.1 points per game) is on pace to become the third Division I freshman to lead the country in scoring.
19. Arkansas' Darius Acuff is tracking to become the second high-major player to average 22 points and six assists. The other? Former Oklahoma star Trae Young.
20. A freshman has never won Big Ten Player of the Year. Illinois' Keaton Wagler is firmly in the race. He's on pace to be just the fifth Big Ten freshman guard to average at least 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, joining Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose, D'Angelo Russell and Dylan Harper.
March could be miserable or miraculous
21. Ohio State's Jake Diebler: The Buckeyes are smack dab on the bubble, and Diebler's job could be at stake if Ohio State doesn't make the Big Dance. It's pretty self-explanatory how this will work in the next few weeks.
22. UCLA's Mick Cronin: You can't miss the tournament after going big-game hunting in the portal for Donovan Dent and retaining Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey. UCLA is on the right side of the cut-line for now, but it's not going to be a stress-free next few weeks. This UCLA defense could use some real-deal rim protection.
23. Auburn's Steven Pearl: Auburn has collapsed, losing seven of its last eight, punctuated by Saturday's crippling home loss to bottom-feeder Ole Miss. Pearl was already under the microscope after taking over the Pearl Family Business. He was given (and helped build) a mercurial roster. He also had to endure one of the toughest schedules in the country. But this Tigers' club has underwhelmed, and Auburn's margin for error for an at-large bid is objectively gone. Going from the Final Four in 2025 to being on the outside looking in one year later is firmly on the table.
24. Indiana's Darian DeVries: IU spent real money last spring to try to get back into the NCAA Tournament right away. It's going to be razor-tight margins down the stretch for DeVries and Co. IU is smack dab on the bubble by every metric. Every possession feels enormous.
25. Cincinnati's Wes Miller: Here's another potential hot seat candidate, who has somehow gotten his club back off the mat. The Bearcats have won five of their last six games, including a massive road win over Kansas on Feb. 21. Stack a few more dubs, and Miller could return to Cincinnati for Year 6.
Florida won the National Championship in 2025 with arguably the best all-around backcourt in the country in Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, Will Richard and Denzel Aberdeen. UConn won the National Championship in 2024 with arguably the best all-around backcourt in the country in Tristen Newton, Steph Castle, Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra. Who has the best overall backcourt this time around?
Plus, one word to describe each unit.
26. Houston's Kingston Flemings, Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp = fearless
27. Arizona's Jaden Bradley, Brayden Burries, Ivan Kharchenkov, Anthony Dell'Orso = relentless
28. Arkansas' Darius Acuff, Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond, DJ Wagner = explosive
29. Alabama's Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Amari Allen, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. = dynamic
30. UConn's Silas Demary Jr., Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins, Malachi Smith = snipers
31. Purdue's Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, CJ Cox, Omer Mayer, Gicarri Harris = PG1
32. Texas Tech's Christian Anderson, Donovan Atwell, Jaylen Petty, Tyeree Bryan = assassins
