Kentucky and Wisconsin have one big advantage over other teams still alive in NCAA Tournament
There are 16 teams still alive in the NCAA Tournament. But Wisconsin and Kentucky have one big advantage over the rest: Both teams are really tall, even by basketball standards.
The chart below is a look at the average height of the 16 teams with player heights adjusted for playing time according to KenPom.com. No team in college basketball is taller than Kentucky with an adjusted average height of 79.3 inches. Wisconsin is a close second at 79.2 inches, nearly a full inch taller than the next tallest team, UCLA.
Kentucky is so tall, only one team in the NBA (Minnesota Timberwolves) is taller than the Wildcats, according to data collected by the New York Times.
At the other end, three teams are still alive in the tournament with average heights below the Division I average (76.7 inches), including Michigan State and Wichita State, both at 76.2 inches, or 3.1 inches shorter than Kentucky.
