What early polls tell us about the eventual national champion

The Associated Press released their preseason Top 25 this week, marking the authoritative commencement to 2022-2023 men's assemblage hoops season. Four teams received first-place votes and a full of 44 teams appeared connected ballots, highlighting the level of parity that we person successful the sport. This is the archetypal of galore information points to digest for the assemblage hoops season, and portion it is lone October, it's ne'er excessively aboriginal to commencement reasoning astir what the bracket volition look similar successful March.

Of course, plentifulness volition alteration betwixt present and the crowning of our 2023 champion, but utilizing past arsenic a guide, this archetypal acceptable of information does clasp immoderate semipermanent value. Here's what we cognize implicit the past 10 tournaments:

• The mean play sees the preseason Top 25 teams rack up 39.5 March Madness wins (play-in games bash not count)

• 84% of teams successful the preseason Top 25 marque the tournament

• The mean preseason ranking of the nationalist champion is 5.9 (the past squad to triumph a rubric erstwhile ranked worse than sixth successful the preseason canvass was the 2015-16 Villanova Wildcats led by Josh Hart)

While we don't "know" anything, caller information suggests that 1 of these top-six teams volition apt triumph the last crippled of the season, and 4 of the teams from the supra database whitethorn not perceive their sanction called connected Selection Sunday (144 days away, but who's counting?).