Still struggling with your bracket?

Did you renew your KenPom subscription, hoping to find that one metric that will persuade you to pull the trigger on that 13-4 upset? (I know you’ve forgotten already, but two 13 seeds won last year and the other two lost by 4 points apiece. For a year, anyway, they replaced the vaunted, cliche 12s, who went 0-4 against 5s last year.)

No matter how thick your preferred crash-course source is, questions will remain.

Here are 10 that will determine who wins the NCAA Tournament.

1. Will the SEC end its NCAA title drought?

The SEC hasn’t won since Anthony Davis and Co. led Kentucky to the 2012 crown.

The Big East has won 3 times since then (including Louisville) and the ACC has won 2 titles (Duke and UNC). The Big Ten hasn’t won it all, but it has sent 3 teams to the final.

It’s probably safer to expect the SEC’s title drought to continue.

2. Could we get an all-SEC Final Four semifinal?

The bracket certainly looks enticing, but the SEC has sent 2 teams to the Final Four just 4 times, and never in the same half of the bracket.

Doing so in 2019 would be historic.

I actually like Kentucky and Tennessee’s draw though. Everybody is anticipating UNC vs. Kentucky for a spot in the Final Four, but I can see an Auburn ending UNC’s run with a flurry of 3s, setting up another UK-Auburn game for a spot in Minneapolis.

Tennessee and Virginia both are on the Redemption Tour, both losing to different Cinderellas last year.

Before the Vols could get to Virginia, they’d have to overcome defending champion Villanova. Overlook the revamped Wildcats at your own peril. Jay Wright has supplanted Tom Izzo as the coach who does more with less in March.

(Less is relative, but keep in mind, Villanova has won 2 titles in 3 years and has had all of 2 lottery picks in 18 seasons under Wright.)

3. Should I pick a team with blue uniforms?

Yes. Without question. The shades can vary and sometimes it’s just an accent, but this is so simple, so constant I’m surprised more teams simply don’t change their color.

Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the past 24 NCAA champions: Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, RED, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, RED, blue, GREEN, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue.

No bracket advice is more reliable.

Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

4. Will the Big Ten end its 18-year title drought?

The Big Ten hasn’t cut down the nets since 2000, when Tom Izzo and Michigan State took down Florida in Indianapolis.

Five teams have won multiple NCAA titles since the Big Ten last won one.

It’s not for lack of opportunity, either. The Big Ten is 0-7 in NCAA championship games since then.

Michigan became the latest, falling last year to Villanova.

The Big Ten has 8 teams in the tournament this year, including two No. 2 seeds (Michigan State and Michigan).

They could meet in the Final Four.

If you like trends, Michigan might be your team. Not only because the Wolverines wear blue, but also …

5. We’ve heard about the Super Bowl hangover. Is there a Final Four hangover?

We know it’s rare for a team to lose the Super Bowl one year, bounce back and win it the next. It’s so rare it’s only happened 3 times in Super Bowl history.

Tom Brady just did it, however, so …

College basketball is a bit more forgiving.

Four times in the past 10 years (essentially the one-and-done era), the NCAA champion reached the Final Four the previous season.

Interestingly, however, North Carolina (2017) was the only champion that lost in the title game the previous season. The other three lost in the Final Four.

The Final Four teams last year? Villanova, Michigan, Kansas and Loyola-Chicago.

We haven’t had a repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

6. Will a No. 1 seed win it all?

It’s likely, but not a given.

The No. 1 seed has won 7 of the past 10 national titles. The No. 2 seed, No. 3 seed and No. 7 seed (UConn in 2014) have won 1 apiece.

In case you need reminding, the No. 1 seeds this year are Duke, UNC, Virginia and Gonzaga.

7. Can you win the NCAA championship with a freshman point guard?

Yes, but he better be a team-first point guard.

In the past 10 years, again, almost the entirety of the one-and-done era, only 2 national champions were led by a freshman point guard:

  • 2012: Kentucky, Marquis Teague.
  • 2015: Duke, Tyus Jones.

That’s it. Other champions had freshmen who contributed, but those are the only two whose offense started with the ball in the hands of a freshman.

The key? Both were much more interested in getting their teammates involved. Teague led UK in assists by a wide margin but was only the Wildcats’ No. 5 scorer that year. Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were the scorers. Teague’s job was to keep them happy. Teague led UK in assists in 4 of the Cats’ 6 NCAA Tournament games.

Jones was the perfect point guard for that uber-talented 2015 Duke team led by lottery picks Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow. He averaged twice as many assists as the next Blue Devil but was just their No. 4 scorer. He led Duke in assists in the first 5 NCAA Tournament games and took over the championship game after Okafor and Winslow got into foul trouble.

Both could score, but neither had to score.

Keep that in mind when you ask yourself …

8. Will UNC win it all?

Jay Bilas thinks so. So do plenty of others. Duke is the heavy-betting favorite, but North Carolina beat Duke twice and nearly a third time when the Blue Devils had Zion Williamson. UNC is Duke’s biggest threat, however …

Carolina has two huge obstacles to overcome before it could even get to Duke in the national championship game:

1. The Heels shoot a lot of 3s, but they aren’t a good 3-point shooting team. They’re streaky. And streaky is a death sentence in the NCAA Tournament.

Carolina has missed 15 or more 3-pointers in a game 19 times this season. They shot 41-for-147 (28 percent) in their 6 losses. Three times they missed 15 or more 3s in those losses, and another time they missed 14.

All it takes is one of those games to end a season.

Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

2. Coby White (above) is the latest in a long, long line of outstanding UNC point guards, but the fast-paced freshman is much more of a scorer than facilitator.

He leads the Tar Heels in shots per game (12.6), more than half of which are 3-pointers. When he’s on, he’s as exciting as anybody in the country. When he’s off, he keeps shooting. In other words, he is a taller Trae Young.

Even more problematic: White’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.51. He hasn’t learned yet how to slow down and self-correct. He knows one speed: 6th gear.

As White goes, so go the Heels. Which makes him and them the biggest and most dangerous wild-card in the field.

9. Will Duke win it all?

See: Questions 7 and 8.

Freshman Tre Jones is Tyus Jones’ little brother and their styles could not be more alike.

Yes, Duke struggled without Zion, but even Williamson admits Tre Jones makes the machine run.

If you’ve listened to Bilas call even one Duke game this season, you’ve already turned “Tre Jones is the best on-the-ball defender in the country” into a drinking game. And were drunk by halftime. But just because it’s annoying doesn’t mean it’s false.

Jones is outstanding on defense and protective on offense. Just like his older brother, he understands he’s playing with 2 lottery picks — likely the first 2 picks — in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Motivation or thinking ahead to his own NBA future won’t be an issue. Jones is from suburban Minneapolis, site of the Final Four.

He’s the reason Duke’s latest one-and-done title try might work.

10. You said a team in blue will win it all. Should I pick Kansas?

Only if you’re in my pool.

Cover photo via @marchmadness