A 12 Step Approach to Crowning This Year's 2010 March Madness Champion

Amidst the Madness of unanticipated upsets, shocking Cinderella stories, and a myriad of inspired (and uninspired) performances, selecting an NCAA Tournament Champion remains a daunting task each March. By examining past trends and the criterion of past tournament winners, the 2010 Champion will invariably emerge. Ladies and gentlemen, let's crown this year's "King of March Madness."

Criterion #1: Sowing the Seeds of Success
Eighth-seeded Villanova, in 1985, remains the worst seed to win the NCAA Tournament. A quick and painless goodbye to the lesser half of the tournament field, leaves "Bracketeers" with 32 potential champions.

Criterion #2: Sowing the Seeds of Success Act 2
The fifth and seventh seeds have never contributed a March Madness Championship. Casting aside Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Butler, BYU, Temple, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Richmond cuts the field of potential championship suitors to an even two dozen teams.

Criterion #3: BCS or Bust
Since 1964, UNLV's 1990 championship squad remains the only team from a current Non-BCS conference to cut down the nets. Lightning fails to strike twice in 2010, sending pretenders UNLV, Gonzaga, Xavier, and New Mexico home, trimming the championship pool to twenty worthy contestants.

Criterion #4: The Sun Sets to the West of Lawrence
The last twelve NCAA Tournament Champions have emerged as geographically east of Lawrence, Kansas (or KU, in Lawrence), dooming the aspirations of Kansas State, California, Texas, and Baylor. Sixteen seeded-survivors remain.

Criterion #5: NBA First-Round Pick of the Litter
The 1987 Indiana Hoosiers remain the last team to win the NCAA Championship without a future first-round NBA draft pick. The latest 2010 and 2011 mock drafts from NBAdraft.net render the hopes of Tennessee, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Notre Dame as obsolete, leaving us with a cast of ten championship contenders.

Criterion #6: Bursting the Big Ten's Bubble
The Big Ten has produced one National Champion since 1990 (2000 Michigan State), inevitably, placing Ohio State on the outside of the postseason champion picture. Nine teams remain.

Criterion #7: Regular Season Struggles
Zero championship teams during the past decade have lost 4 out of 6 or 5 out of 7 regular season games. Pack your bags, Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova. Six elite contenders stand tall.

Criterion #8: Winning Streak for the Championship
The 2000 Michigan Spartans serve as the last championship team to not compile a double-digit game winning streak during the regular season. Duke, you are the weakest link, goodbye. Five.

Criterion #9: Uncharted ConferenceTournamentTerritory
No team has lost its first conference tournament game and won the Big Dance. Send my regards to the Orange, as we reach the Final Four.

Criterion #10: Public Displays of Affection
Syracuse remains the only private school to win the National Championship in the last twenty-five years. Vanderbilt's surprise run ends here, leaving us with Kansas, West Virginia, and Kentucky, as potential monarchs of March Madness.

Criterion #11: Final Four Track Record
Each champion school of the past decade reached the Final Four, since the tournament expanded in 1979, prior to winning it all. Unfortunately, 1959 ranks as West Virginia's lone Final Four appearance.

Criterion #12: Freshman Boys Amongst Men
Sorry, Kentucky, there simply does not exist much of a precedent for championship teams starting three freshman. Additionally, since the tournament expanded, zero championship teams have started five NCAA Tournament rookies.

Drum roll, please.... Your 2010 NCAA Tournament National Champion will be.... The Kansas Jayhawks. Hey, who can argue with history?

References: 2010 and 2011 NBA mock drafts as reflected on NBAdraft.net.
NCAA Championship results as reflected on http://www.fanbay.net/ncaa/final4.htm.
Current and past team statistics and tournament information as reflected on ESPN.com.
Dawson, Brett. "Kentucky Basketball Team is Really the Kiddie Cats," http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100315/SPORTS03/303150079/Kentucky+really+is+the+Kiddie+Cats.