Video: McDonald's All-Americans in the NCAA TournamentWhat does past data say about this year's Big Dance?Good luck winning the NCAA Tournament without multiple McDonald's All-Americans on the roster.
Of the last 30 national champions dating back to Kansas in 1988, 21 have featured two or more McDonald's All-Americans with eight others having a lone Burger Boy.
Only Maryland in 2002 won it all without a former participant in high school basketball's premier postseason showcase.
That's bad news for highly-seeded hopefuls like Auburn, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Michigan, Purdue, Texas Tech, Wichita State and Xavier – programs with a combined zero McDonald's All-Americans.
The correlation between national championships and McDonald's is good news for Kentucky and Duke.
John Calipari's Wildcats lead the way with six former participants (Quade Green, Sacha Killeya-Jones, Kevin Knox, Nick Richards, Jarred Vanderbilt, P.J. Washington) while the Blue Devils have five (Grayson Allen, Marques Bolden, Wendell Carter Jr., Trevon Duval, Gary Trent Jr.).
Arizona, Kansas and Michigan State all feature three former All-Americans. The grand total for title teams between 1988 and 2017 was 98, an average of 3.26 per championship squad.
North Carolina in 2009 and Duke in 2015 both featured eight McDonald's All-Americans – tied for the most of any championship team in the last 30 years.
Read on for a graphical breakdown of McDonald's All-Americans on championship teams since 1988.
Year-By-Year Player Breakdown
8 – 2009 North Carolina: Ed Davis, Larry Drew II, Wayne Ellington, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Tyler Zeller
8 – 2015 Duke: Grayson Allen, Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, Marshall Plumlee, Justise Winslow
7 – 2001 Duke: Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, Michael Dunleavy Jr., Nate James, Casey Sanders, Jay Williams
6 – 1991 Duke: Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Greg Koubek, Christian Laettner, Bill McCaffrey, Crawford Palmer
6 – 1993 North Carolina: George Lynch, Eric Montross, Derrick Phelps, Brian Reese, Matt Wenstrom, Donald Williams
6 – 2012 Kentucky: Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague, Kyle Wiltjer
6 – 2017 North Carolina: Joel Berry II, Tony Bradley Jr., Isaiah Hicks, Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, Theo Pinson
5 – 2005 North Carolina: Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams, Marvin Williams
5 – 2010 Duke: Mason Plumlee, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas
4 – 1992 Duke: Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Cherokee Parks
4 – 1996 Kentucky: Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, Wayne Turner, Antoine Walker
4 – 2008 Kansas: Cole Aldrich, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins
3 – 1988 Kansas: Mike Maddox, Danny Manning, Mark Randall
3 – 1989 Michigan: Sean Higgins, Terry Mills, Rumeal Robinson
3 – 1995 UCLA: Omm'A Givens, Charles, O'Bannon, Ed O'Bannon
2 – 1994 Arkansas: Darnell Robinson, Corliss Williamson
2 –1999 Connecticut: Khalid El-Amin, Richard Hamilton
2 – 2000 Michigan State: Mateen Cleaves, Jason Richardson
2 – 2004 Connecticut: Taliek Brown, Charlie Villanueva
2 – 2011 Connecticut: Alex Oriakhi, Kemba Walker
2 – 2013 Louisville: Wayne Blackshear, Peyton Siva
1 – 1990 UNLV: Larry Johnson
1 –1997 Arizona: Mike Bibby
1 – 1998 Kentucky: Wayne Turner
1 –2003 Syracuse: Carmelo Anthony
1 – 2006 Florida: Corey Brewer
1 – 2007 Florida: Corey Brewer
1 – 2014 Connecticut: Rodney Purvis
1 – 2016 Villanova: Jalen Brunson
