Though it feels like the 2024 men's NCAA tournament has only just begun, more than three quarters of the original field has already been eliminated, leaving us just 15 games away from crowning a national champion.

And the list of remaining teams is outrageously stacked.

Of the 16 teams still standing, 14 were in the top 18 of our original 68-team power rankings, including the top seven in its entirety. The exceptions are pre-tourney No. 34 Clemson and No. 47 NC State.

However, this isn't just some hoops rankings version of "Squeeze Play" on The Price Is Right where we take out a few numbers and push the rest together in the same order. Rather, Gonzaga leapfrogged several teams, as did NC State. And after churning out more bricks in the second round than a Lego factory, Tennessee simply had to slip a couple of spots.

For the most part, though, these rankings are a product of what these teams were over the course of their first 30-plus games as opposed to the most recent two victories, so we're not completely re-shuffling the deck or anything.

Of note, remaining path means nothing here. Unlike our title-odds piece from Monday morning, this is a straight-up ranking of the 16 remaining teams from worst to best.

16. Alabama Crimson Tide

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 18

How They've Looked: Frantic. In the Charleston game, Alabama's pace of play was a thing of beauty, as it reached 100 points with more than five minutes remaining in what was a much bigger blowout than the final margin suggests. However, the Crimson Tide's attempt to push the pace against Grand Canyon was calamity of the highest order, with both teams seeming to think that the solution was to increase the level of reckless abandon with which they were playing.

Bread and Butter: Uptempo offense. Things got out of control against GCU, but the "seven seconds or less" approach has been Alabama's thing all year. The Crimson Tide rank fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency and third in average possession length, resulting in a nation-best scoring average of 90.7 points per game. It at least feels like they could simply outscore any foe.

Achilles' Heel: Defense. And facing quality competition. While Alabama leads the nation in scoring, it also darn near "leads" the nation in allowing points at 80.9 per game. That defense has been especially helpless against good teams, allowing 92.7 points per game while going 2-10 against opponents ranked in the top 30 on KenPom.

MVP: Mark Sears. Sometimes it's Aaron Estrada leading the way, but Alabama almost always leans heavily on Sears, who has scored at least 20 points in 19 of his last 21 games, typically with a good number of assists, too. He had 30 points in the opener against Charleston and he was a one-man show in the Grand Canyon chaos, going for 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in that exhausting affair. He is the conductor of this bullet train of offense.

Championship Blueprint: Score like there's no tomorrow, because with this defense, there won't be a tomorrow if you don't.

15. Clemson Tigers

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 34

How They've Looked: Complete. Even though Clemson's main four Tigers have started every game this season, there were times during ACC play where it just felt like something was missing, culminating in a 21-point loss to Boston College in their first game of the conference tournament. But they were firing on all cylinders in Memphis this past weekend, most notably Chase Hunter playing his best basketball of the season with 41 points and 12 assists in the wins over New Mexico and Baylor.

Bread and Butter: Versatility. Though nowhere near the positionless brand of basketball that Illinois plays this season, everyone can do a little bit of everything for Clemson. Hunter doesn't do much rebounding and RJ Godfrey very rarely shoots threes, but for the most part, this entire eight-man rotation is liable to shoot from anywhere, find the open man or crash the glass.

Achilles' Heel: Perimeter defense. The Lobos and Bears inexplicably shot a combined 9-of-47 from distance against the Tigers, but allowing triples was a year-long problem for this team. There were 14 games this season in which they allowed at least nine made threes while recording five or fewer steals, including all five of their losses to teams who ended the season with no legitimate argument for an at-large bid.

MVP: PJ Hall. It has been a hot minute since Hall was putting up first-team All-American-caliber numbers during Clemson's 11-1 start to the year, but this stretch 5 remains the Tiger most important to this team's cause, scoring in double figures in all but one game this season. Foul trouble has been an issue for Hall in the first two rounds—as it was in about 50 percent of games this season—but he can be a difference-maker when not taking himself out of games.

Championship Blueprint: Ride the main four, keep Hall out of foul trouble and hope foes continue to struggle from distance.

14. North Carolina State Wolfpack

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 47

How They've Looked: Belonging. There was no chance NC State would make the tournament as an at-large team. However, just like Oregon State making that run to the Elite Eight as a No. 12 seed in 2021, the Wolfpack have shown that it was more than just one lucky week. They ran away from a darn good Texas Tech team in the first round before out-lasting this year's big Cinderella story (Oakland) in overtime.

Bread and Butter: Turnover-averse offense. In its last 18 games, NC State has had more than 10 giveaways just once. Listen, this team is plenty beatable. Even after seven consecutive wins, there's a reason the Wolfpack still rank outside the top 50 on KenPom. But they almost certainly aren't going to defeat themselves with turnovers.

Achilles' Heel: Three-point defense. Things have been going quite well for the Wolfpack in this department as of late, holding their last six opponents to a combined 28.8 percent from distance. It was a significant issue for most of the season, though, and you just never know when even a great perimeter defense is going to fall victim to a hot-shooting foe. NC State also isn't a great shooting team in its own right.

MVP: DJ Horne. Yes, DJ Burns Jr. is the fan favorite and the matchup nightmare who simply cannot be guarded one-on-one in the post. He went for 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the win over Oakland. But Horne is usually NC State's heart and soul, going for 24-plus in six consecutive games earlier this season, as well as 29 in the ACC championship against North Carolina. Getting him going is just about imperative to this team's success.

Championship Blueprint: Own the turnover battle, feed the big man and keep having fun playing with house money.

13. San Diego State Aztecs

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 17

How They've Looked: Major. While the rest of the six-bid Mountain West is long gone, the Aztecs are once again shouldering the load for the mid-major conference with wins over UAB and Yale. Things got mighty shaky midway through the second half against the Blazers, but San Diego State has trailed for about 4.5 minutes thus far in this tournament, instantly destroying a Yale team that had stunned KenPom No. 4 Auburn just two days prior.

Bread and Butter: Defense. UAB scored 65. Yale scored 57. And that's business as usual for the Aztecs, who have now held their last 15 opponents to 64.7 points per game—which includes three games that went to overtime. They aren't an elite shot-blocking or turnover-forcing team. They aren't even anything special on the defensive glass. It's just really hard to score against San Diego State.

Achilles' Heel: Shooting. SDSU couldn't miss against Yale, but in the nine games prior to that 85-57 blowout, it was averaging 70.3 points, shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from three-point range. Even after Sunday night's gem, the Aztecs are barely top 300 in three-point percentage and still outside the top 200 in effective field-goal percentage. In more than half of their games this season, they were held to 72 points or fewer in regulation.

MVP: Jaedon LeDee. In his first four seasons, LeDee shot 0-of-16 from three-point range, scoring a grand total of 601 points as a role player. This year, he is 19-of-42 from distance and is one of just four players in the country to have scored at least 750 points. If the NCAA ever creates an award for the nation's foremost breakout senior, it should be the Jaedon LeDee Trophy.

Championship Blueprint: Get the ball to LeDee, get after it on D and hope for more shooting nights like the one against Yale.

12. Creighton Bluejays

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 14

How They've Looked: Deep. Not in terms of rotation depth, of course. Creighton doesn't have much of that, and played all three of Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner for all but a few seconds of the double-overtime win over Oregon. But they've looked deep from the field, hitting 10 triples against Akron and 15 more against Oregon. They've sometimes struggled from distance outside of Omaha, but they were hot in Pittsburgh this past weekend.

Bread and Butter: Three-pointers. Creighton averages 10.7 made threes per game and is just about unbeatable when shooting at least 30 percent from distance. Scheierman is the primary weapon with 106 makes on the year, but Steven Ashworth (76), Alexander (60) and Mason Miller (48) can all make it rain, too. Even Kalkbrenner (16) can step out there and hit them on occasion, as he did with a back-breaker in the second OT period Saturday.

Achilles' Heel: Physicality. Creighton both commits and draws fouls at one of the lowest rates in the nation, very much preferring a free-flowing game where guys are able to step into their perimeter jumpers. Because in a good old-fashioned shooting contest, the Bluejays are going to win 95 times out of 100. Punch these guys in the mouth, though, and keep them from getting comfortable from three-point range and they become much less of a force.

MVP: Scheierman. He's the leading scorer, the leading rebounder, the primary three-point option and a willing passer at four assists per game. Any of Creighton's Big Four can lead the way, but it does feel like Scheierman is the one who needs to show up if the Bluejays are going to play their "A game."

Championship Blueprint: Get hot from distance and do what it takes to keep the opposition from doing the same.

11. Duke Blue Devils

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 13

How They've Looked: Defensive. Holding Vermont to a season-worst 47 in the first round wasn't too surprising, but limiting James Madison to a season-worst 55 in the second round felt like a statement by the Blue Devils. In both losses to North Carolina and in the court-storming fiasco at Wake Forest, it seemed like Duke couldn't stop anything. It was quite active on that end of the floor in Brooklyn, though, racking up 21 steals and nine blocks.

Bread and Butter: Efficient offense. Duke hasn't been a "lives and dies by the three" team in at least a decade at this point. It does have plenty of perimeter shooting at its disposal, though, most notably freshman Jared McCain, who hit eight triples against JMU. This team is also quite good at scoring inside the arc, with six of its primary seven players making at least 52.5 percent of two-point attempts. The Devils don't often commit turnovers, either, all resulting in a top-five offense.

Achilles' Heel: Close games. We've brought this up a ton over the past 10 days or so, but Duke is just 2-7 in games decided by seven points or fewer—and one of the two wins was that extremely controversial ending against Clemson. Can the Devils grind out a tight win in a physical battle, or will they fold?

MVP: Kyle Filipowski. Anyone in Duke's starting five can be "the guy" on any given day, and it's wild that Flip only officially attempted one shot in the first round against Vermont. He still racked up 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals, though, which is what makes him the MVP, leading the team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.

Championship Blueprint: Keep defending at a high level, get at least four of the five starters going on offense and play tougher than ever.

10. Illinois Fighting Illini

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 10

How They've Looked: Pointy. As in lots of points. Get it? The Illini dropped 85 on Morehead State in the first round before a remarkable 89-point performance against a good Duquesne defense in the second round. But what else is new? Illinois has scored at least 85 points in 10 of its last 13 games.

Bread and Butter: Relentless offense. After beating Duquesne, Illinois supplanted Connecticut as the most efficient offense in the country. The Illini have a ton of scoring options, they shoot well both inside and out, they crash the offensive glass, they don't commit many turnovers and they do a good job of both getting to and converting from the free-throw line. The only reason people have questioned the lack of a true point guard is because it's really hard to question anything else about this offense.

Achilles' Heel: Perimeter defense. You don't need to force turnovers to win in March. See: North Carolina reaching the 2022 title game with the third-worst turnover-forcing rate in the nation. However, it does make it a lot tougher to buy stock in a team when it has one of the worst turnover rates as well as a three-point percentage allowed that ranks outside the top 200, both of which are true of Illinois. Classic case of a team that can score 85 or allow 85 in any game.

MVP: Terrence Shannon Jr. Arguments could also be made for Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins, but Shannon has been playing out of his mind lately, averaging 27.1 points over his last 14 games. If that trend continues, Illinois just might score its way to the first national championship in program history.

Championship Blueprint: Score like your life depends upon it, and at least give a darn from time to time on defense.

9. Marquette Golden Eagles

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 9

How They've Looked: Healthy. Or, at the very least, Tyler Kolek has looked healthy. Marquette's veteran point guard missed the last six games before the Dance with an oblique strain, but he played 78 minutes across the first two games, racking up a combined 39 points, 22 assists and 11 rebounds. That'll do. When he goes for at least seven points and seven assists, the Golden Eagles are a perfect 14-0.

Bread and Butter: Turnover margin. While not quite as imperative to the success of Shaka Smart's team as it was back in 2012-13 at VCU when the Rams forced 302 more turnovers than they committed, being plus-170 in that department is a massive part of Marquette's success. Five different Golden Eagles average better than one steal per game, and keeping the giveaways to just 10 per game turns turnover margin into a big advantage.

Achilles' Heel: Rebounding. In Marquette's nine losses, it finished minus-85 on the glass. While not necessarily the reason the Golden Eagles lost those games, it certainly didn't help. Per KenPom, they rank outside the top 275 in the nation in both offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding. Big man Oso Ighodaro usually does most of the work in that department, and he only had one rebound in the second round against Colorado.

MVP: Kolek. However, Kam Jones isn't far behind him with how well he has been playing since the beginning of February. That backcourt tandem has been sensational for the Golden Eagles, but there's no question Kolek is the straw that stirs the drink and the on-court extension of his gritty head coach. When he's doing his Jalen Brunson thing and both scoring and passing from in among the trees, Marquette's offense is so tough to shut down.

Championship Blueprint: Own the turnover battle, don't get owned in the rebound battle and let Kolek cook.

8. Gonzaga Bulldogs

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 16

How They've Looked: Vintage. For much of the season, this was one of the worst Gonzaga teams we've seen in at least a decade. Forget about gunning for the sixth No. 1 seed in program history, we weren't sure until the end of the regular season whether the Zags would even extend their streak to 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments. But they were maybe the most impressive team of the opening weekend, dominating an upset-minded McNeese State and annual title contender Kansas by 21 points each.

Bread and Butter: Owning the paint. Against D-I opponents, Gonzaga shoots 58.3 percent from inside the arc for the year, allowing just 44.6 percent on the other end. The only other team that ranks top 10 in the nation in both departments is title favorite Connecticut. And that trend has very much continued thus far in the tournament, shooting 48-of-82 (58.5 percent) while allowing 36-of-95 (37.9 percent).

Achilles' Heel: Three-point shooting. Gonzaga's overall perimeter numbers are fine, with Nolan Hickman and, to a lesser extent, stretch-5 Ben Gregg leading the way. But when the Zags have off nights from distance, they really have off nights from distance, shooting a combined 25-of-126 (19.8 percent) in their seven losses. They also aren't particularly great about defending the arc on the other end, although that oddly hasn't hurt them, going 10-1 in games where their opponent makes at least nine triples.

MVP: Graham Ike. He's not exactly Drew Timme, but Gonzaga is so tough to beat when Ike is doing his thing near the rim. The Zags have won 15 consecutive games in which he scores more than 12 points, and he usually goes for 20 and/or a double-double.

Championship Blueprint: Stay on fire, dominate with deuces and try to not get in trouble beyond the perimeter.

7. Iowa State Cyclones

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 7

How They've Looked: Oppressive. The Cyclones have actually been a bit below their year-to-date turnover rate on defense thus far in the tournament, but both South Dakota State and Washington State A) committed turnovers on at least 22 percent of possessions and B) scored fewer than one point per possession. That "under 1.0 PPP" part has now been true of 10 consecutive ISU opponents dating back to mid-February. It's like actually trying to score against a cyclone.

Bread and Butter: Turning defense into offense. Iowa State averages better than 10 steals per game, and it can feel like the Cyclones are getting four-point or five-point buckets when they turn those takeaways into fast-break layups. Both Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert average better than 2.0 steals and better than 4.0 assists per game, and those definitely aren't mutually exclusive events.

Achilles' Heel: Allowing three-point attempts. If you can withstand Iowa State's ball-hawking defense, there's a good chance you're going to be able to pass your way into a wide-open three-point attempt. And when an opponent finishes a game with more made three-pointers than live-ball turnovers committed, the Cyclones are 1-5 this season.

MVP: Gilbert. It's a 1A/1B situation between Gilbert and Lipsey, each stuffing the stat sheet with points, assists, rebounds and steals on a daily basis. Where Gilbert gets the slight advantage is in his ability to get to and convert from the charity stripe. They both do a lot of driving, but Gilbert is more of a magnet for contact.

Championship Blueprint: Get steals, get more steals and get a few more steals after that, but don't get over-aggressive to the point where guys who shoot 40-plus percent from distance are left alone for daggers.

6. Tennessee Volunteers

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 4

How They've Looked: Stingy. For optimism purposes, let's try to not focus on the poor offensive showing in the second round against Texas and instead hone in on the fact that Tennessee has allowed 107 points in 135 possessions thus far. You can shoot 3-of-25 from three-point range and occasionally live to see another day when you're holding opponents to 0.79 points per possession.

Bread and Butter: Defense. There was a 100-92 loss at North Carolina early in the year and a pair of games in which Kentucky was able to put up at least 85 points. For the most part, though, defense has been the name of the game all season for the Volunteers. Trying to score in the paint against this team is nightmare fuel.

Achilles' Heel: Shooting. It's not as much of a constant issue for Tennessee as it is for Houston or SDSU, but that offensive dud against Texas wasn't exactly a new phenomenon for the Volunteers, who have lost five of the eight times they were held below 70 points. In terms of effective field-goal percentage, Tennessee (51.3) is only marginally better than the national average (50.5). The Vols have an incredible bucket-getter in Dalton Knecht, but he can't do it alone. Even Kemba Walker had a sidekick (Jeremy Lamb) who scored at least a dozen in every tournament game.

MVP: Knecht. A rough stretch for a month after spraining his ankle at the end of November kept him from having the year-to-date numbers necessary to really make a run at dethroning Zach Edey for NPOY, but Knecht has averaged 25.3 points over his last 20 games and is, aside from Edey, the one player most likely to single-handedly win a tournament game.

Championship Blueprint: Grind opponents to a pulp with defense, get someone other than Knecht to score and pray this is finally Rick Barnes' year.

5. Arizona Wildcats

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 6

How They've Looked: Spurty. LBSU reeled off a 13-0 run midway through the first half of the first game, but Arizona ground the Beach into sand with a 27-4 run spanning halftime. Similar story against Dayton, building up a 17-point lead, nearly giving it all away and then blowing the game wide open again midway through the second half. Need to make sure there are more good spurts than bad spurts the rest of the way.

Bread and Butter: Rebounding. The Wildcats entered the tournament as the second-best rebounding team in the country with an average margin of plus-10.5 per game. Fun fact, though: Arizona is only plus-one on the glass thus far in the Dance, allowing both LBSU's Aboubacar Traore and Dayton's DaRon Holmes II to go for double-doubles. Still won each game by double digits, but let's see if they can get back to owning the boards in the second weekend.

Achilles' Heel: Backcourt lapses. In the regular-season-ending loss to USC, Kylan Boswell and Caleb Love combined for seven points on 19 shots with eight turnovers. In the Pac-12 tournament loss to Oregon, it was 10 points on 17 shots with five giveaways. Love just about always scores in double figures, but Boswell has had a few too many of those duds this season. It could well bury Arizona if he has another.

MVP: Love. Perhaps the Beatles were onto something with "All You Need Is Love." Getting a double-double from Oumar Ballo or double digits from Boswell, Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson is great, but Love is the scoring machine averaging better than 18 points per game. He's liable to heat check the Wildcats into oblivion, but such is the price of having a shooter with no conscience who can win you a lot of games.

Championship Blueprint: Crash the glass, get Boswell going early and hope that Love will have a good game.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 5

How They've Looked: Relentless. The Tar Heels predictably ran a freight train through Wagner in the first round, but more impressive was the way they rallied from a slow start against Michigan State, leveraging a 17-0 run late in the first half to pull ahead to stay. When this offense gets rolling, best of luck.

Bread and Butter: Transition offense. North Carolina is plenty potent in the half-court game, but when this team is able to turn a defensive rebound, a steal or even a made bucket into a shot attempt in five seconds or fewer, it is just plain lethal. Better make sure to get back and keep your head on a swivel when facing UNC.

Achilles' Heel: Turnover-averse defense. North Carolina does have a very good defense, sixth in the nation in adjusted efficiency. But where top teams in that department Houston, Iowa State and Tennessee tend to control their own destiny with a lot of steals, North Carolina takes more of a "forces tough shots and cleans up on the defensive glass" approach to that end. Which is great, until an opponent gets a little hot. And UNC loses almost twice as often as it wins when allowing more than 72 points in a game.

MVP: RJ Davis. Armando Bacot averages a double-double and Harrison Ingram has had 10 such individual performances, but Davis is one of the most proficient scorers in the nation and a star who can almost single-handedly carry the Tar Heels to victory. He has scored 20-plus on 23 occasions, including a 42-point special in late February.

Championship Blueprint: Play with pace, dominate the glass and ride the Big Three to victory.

3. Houston Cougars

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 3

How They've Looked: Offensive. There's going to be a lot of negative "What the heck happened there?" comments in regard to Houston's late collapse against Texas A&M, but, um, can we talk about the fact that the Cougars averaged 92 points in their first two wins? Fresh off scoring 41 in that Big 12 championship loss to Iowa State? Yes, they had trouble putting away the Aggies and the best offensive rebounding unit in the nation, but if the Cougars continue to average around 1.3 points per possession, say hello to your 2024 national champion.

Bread and Butter: Impact defense. Houston presently ranks second in the nation in each of the following categories: steal percentage, block percentage, effective field-goal percentage allowed and adjusted defensive efficiency. Not too shabby. The Cougars are also right around 10th in both offensive rebounding percentage and turnover percentage on offense, resulting in 10 more field-goal attempts per game than they allow.

Achilles' Heel: Defensive rebounding. Houston's shooting was the concern for most of the season, but that's a hollow complaint these days, shooting 37.1 percent from distance and 46.3 percent from the field in eight games this month. But the Cougars gave up 26 offensive rebounds against Texas A&M, this after allowing TCU to get 30 in the Big 12 tournament. Failing to actually finish defensive possessions on the glass is seriously undermining how good the defense is.

MVP: Jamal Shead. He was overshadowed by Marcus Sasser the previous two years, but Shead has racked up 1,246 points, 651 assists and 203 steals over the past three seasons, taking a big step forward this year as the Cougars' star on both ends of the floor. He's not a volume scorer, but Houston is a perfect 23-0 when he goes for at least 20 combined points, assists and steals.

Championship Blueprint: Dominate with defense while doing enough on offense.

2. Purdue Boilermakers

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 2

How They've Looked: Unafraid. The first half of the opener against Grambling State was maybe a little too close for comfort, but the Boilermakers eventually cruised to a 28-point victory over the Tigers. They proceeded to destroy Utah State 106-67 in one of the biggest second-round blowouts in NCAA tournament history. If they were worried about a possible repeat of last year's Fairleigh Dickinson disaster, it certainly didn't show.

Bread and Butter: Three-point shooting. It's not even fair since they already have the most dominant big man in the sport, but Purdue also leads the nation in three-point shooting at 40.9 percent. You can send the double at Zach Edey in the post, but Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Mason Gillis all shoot at least 44 percent from distance and have made at least 50 triples each. Lance Jones can also stroke it from deep. And, oh yeah, this is also one of the best rebounding teams in the nation.

Achilles' Heel: Facing physical perimeter defenses. Once Edey gets the ball down low, best of luck to you. Over the past two years, though, the teams that have been able to beat Purdue are the ones that cause problems in the backcourt, making Braden Smith uncomfortable and/or taking Fletcher Loyer completely out of the game. The big man is going to get his, but Purdue can be beaten elsewhere.

MVP: Edey. It's only a matter of time before the Big Maple doubles his collection of all the National Player of the Year trophies. In his last 19 games dating back to mid-January, he has 17 double-doubles, averaging 26.8 points, 13.5 points and 2.3 blocks. And he has dominated thus far in the tournament.

Championship Blueprint: Let Edey eat, stay composed along the perimeter and avoid the "here we go again" demons.

1. Connecticut Huskies

Pre-Tournament Rank: No. 1

How They've Looked: Typical. UConn entered the NCAA tournament as the clear favorite and has done nothing to change that. Between the wins over Stetson and Northwestern, the Huskies won the first half by a combined score of 92-37. They took their foot off the gas in the second half of each game, but they proved their point without hopelessly embarrassing those teams who never had a chance.

Bread and Butter: Dominating in the paint. UConn shoots 59.2 percent on two-point attempts while allowing just 43.5 percent on the other end. The defensive part of the equation is largely the rim protection of 7'2" Donovan Clingan, but it's an entire team thing on offense, with backup center Samson Johnson actually boasting the best two-point percentage (73.2) of the bunch. Seven Huskies have made at least 50 two-point buckets, each shooting at least 51.8 percent.

Achilles' Heel: Well... Um... You see... The thing is... Listen, Connecticut is neither perfect nor unbeatable. No college basketball team is, especially in the era of "everyone can make threes." But at full strength, this team has lost one game all season, on a night in Omaha where Creighton lost its mind and scored on 14 out of 15 possessions in storming out to an insurmountable lead. UConn's Achilles' Heel is that sometimes weird things happen in hoops. (And it'd be nice if the Huskies forced more turnovers.)

MVP: Cam Spencer. At 48.8 percent from the field, 44.0 percent from three-point range and 91.5 percent from the free-throw line, Spencer is painfully close to the elusive 50-40-90 club. In the past three decades, only four players have hit those marks while scoring at least 500 points in a single season. And when he scores at least seven points, the Huskies are 30-0.

Championship Blueprint: Don't change a thing, and make sure to get Spencer at least a few buckets.