By now it shouldn’t come as a surprise that lineup connection is a enormous aspect in structure a champion groups in college basketball.
Even in the age of the transfer website and instant eligibility, there is still a excellent argument for keeping core gamers together over longer extends of time. The last years has currently shown this is one of the more effective paths to a title, as my associate Bryan Kalbrosky pointed out in March when every No. 1 seed was gotridof from the NCAA Tournament priorto the Elite Eight.
KenPom’s connection ranking, which tracks the portion of a group’s minutes played by the exactsame gamer from one season to the next, is a practical tool here.
That UConn won the 2023 NCAA champion with a group connection rating of 33.2 percent makes it a rather analytical outlier amongst current champs:
| YEAR | SCHOOL | CONTINUITY % |
| 2022 | Kansas | 70.4 |
| 2021 | Baylor | 66.9 |
| 2019 | Virginia | 60.2 |
| 2018 | Villanova | 55.9 |
| 2017 | North Carolina | 64.4 |
| 2016 | Villanova | 58.0 |
| 2015 | Duke | 38.1 |
| 2014 | UConn | 69.6 |
| 2013 | Louisville | 55.3 |
While no one can fault a program for lookingfor the services of a Hunter Dickinson or Max Abmas, gamblers needto be tired of gathering to groups rebuilt through the transfer website or beginning a bulk underclassman lineup.
This is not to state oddsmakers are incorrect to thinkabout Kansas, Duke and Kentucky favorites to cut down the webs in2024 It does, nevertheless, mean there is worth to be discovered somewhereelse on the board.
As CJ Moore of The Athletic composed about Monday, Michigan State and Marquette simply may be those worth plays — particularly because of their technique to connection and