Some tips to help you when filling out NCAA Tournament brackets this week:

— When picking a national champion, consider the KenPom efficiency numbers. Since 2002, only UConn in 2014 has won while not finishing in the top 25 in offensive and defensive efficiency. This year’s teams that qualify: Virginia, Gonzaga, Duke, Michigan State, Michigan, North Carolina, Kentucky and Houston.

— Don’t be afraid to pick a long-shot Final Four team. Since ninth-seeded Wichita State in 2013, at least one team seeded seventh or lower has reached the national semifinals: No. 8 Kentucky (2014), No. 7 Michigan State (2015), No. 10 Syracuse (2016), No. 7 South Carolina (2017) and No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (2018).

— If you’re a big believer in track record, Gonzaga, under coach Mark Few, has reached four consecutive Sweet 16s, which is the longest active streak in the nation. Kansas’ three consecutive Sweet 16s rank second.

— Last year’s NCAA Tournament was a historic anomaly: Five different teams seeded seventh or lower reached the Sweet 16, which marked the most teams seeded that low to reach the second weekend since 1990. Nevertheless, at least one double-digit seeded team has made the Sweet 16 in 20 of the past 23 tournaments.

— Virginia made history by being the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round last year, but don’t count on it happening again: That loss ran the record of No. 1 seeds against No. 16s to 135-1, a 99.3 winning percentage.

— Don’t go all chalk: As tempting as it might be, you shouldn’t pick only No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four. It’s only happened once, in 2008, when top seeds Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and North Carolina all reached the semifinals.

— When it comes to picking a champ, a No. 1 seed is still the safest bet. Dating to 2007, a No. 1 seed has won the championship in nine of the past 12 tournaments, including Villanova last year and North Carolina in 2017.

— Looking for a school to trust? Consider North Carolina, which has the all-time lead in most Final Four appearances (20), while Roy Williams ranks fourth with nine appearances, including two of the past three seasons.

— The 12-over-5 upset is the trendy pick in the first round, but beware: The No. 5 seeds went 4-0 last year and in 2015, and in the previous four tournaments there have only been three out of 16 upsets for the No. 12 seed, and none have reached the Sweet 16.

— Loyola-Chicago became just the latest 11 seed to make a stunning run to the Final Four last year, but it’s not unprecedented: Four No. 11 seeds have reached the Final Four, which is more than No. 7s (3), 9s (1) and 10s (1).