Home stretch

The data below is through games of March 1. It appears that we are going to have 3 nice case studies this year if things continue along these lines. According to the data, Duke is a contender, while Oklahoma and Pittsburgh aren't final four material. The pundits believe just the opposite to be true. While Duke doesn't have all of the characteristics of a final four team they do have more than any other team at this point. One note on Pittsburgh and Oklahoma - they both certainly have the offensive power to win the national championship, their fault lies with their defense, at least at this juncture.

Team	Def Eff	Off Eff	RPI
Duke	8	6	2
Connecticut	3	15	5
North Carolina	19	1	3
Kansas	7	17	7
Michigan State	9	24	6
Missouri	13	20	13
Memphis	1	42	8
Washington	15	32	12
Wake Forest	14	36	16
Xavier	17	49	11