Connecticut had Ricky Moore. Michigan State had Mateen Cleaves and Mo Peterson. Duke had Shane Battier. Maryland had Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter.

Go back even further than the past four national championship teams and their rosters will have leaders who were seniors. It isn't a coincidence. This is a fact. Seniors win national championships.

	Keith Bogans didn't return after spraining his ankle.

Don't give us Fab Five fluff. They lost both title games. And, according to Michigan and soon the NCAA, that apparently didn't happen.

Sure, the 2002-03 season has been all about the impact of freshmen. And yes, the best player in this year's NCAA Tournament just may be Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony. But if Syracuse, or any other team that depends on freshmen (see: Illinois, Duke, Florida, et. all), has visions of cutting the nets down in New Orleans, they better get leadership from Kueth Duany (Syracuse), Brian Cook (Illinois) or Matt Bonner (Florida).

Think back to the 1999 tournament. Moore was the defender who locked up Duke. A year later, Cleaves made a Willis Reed-like entrance after getting slammed by Florida's Teddy Dupay, re-entering the title game to lead the Spartans to the championship. In 2001, Battier was another Coach K on the court. Last year, Dixon and Baxter simply elevated their play to another level en route to Maryland's first national title.

For these and other reasons, putting stock in Kentucky (Keith Bogans, Jules Camara, fourth-year junior Marquis Estill) is a safe move. Banking on Oklahoma making it into the second weekend, if not New Orleans, with Hollis Price, Ebi Ere and Quannas White is a smart sell. Locking in out West with Arizona because of Jason Gardner, Luke Walton and Ricky Anderson makes more than enough sense. And giving Kansas a chance to knock off those Wildcats because of Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich would be prudent. Oh, and don't give up on Maryland just yet. Not with Steve Blake, Drew Nicholas, Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle.

The old rule used to say a national champion needed at least two first-round NBA draft picks to win the title. No more. Now the team must have go-to seniors, regardless of their professional potential. None of the seniors on Kentucky, Oklahoma or Arizona are locks for the first-round of the draft. Texas' chances to win the title, no matter how well T.J. Ford plays, could be stunted by a lack of senior leadership. Maybe.

	... while Brett Nelson must bring his 'A' game or his senior leadership isn't worth much.

"No freshmen-laden teams win anything, not a national championship," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "The game is too advanced with scouting and adjustments for that to happen. These guys have competed against each other in some form or fashion. They know each other too well. Talent alone can't get it done. You better have experience."

Strong words, but it's not just having seniors. The upperclassmen better be talented, too. Leading from the bench isn't going to cut it.

But, the above-mentioned seniors are all go-to players, or at least as important as any high-profile freshmen (see: Duke). They're also selfless players. And Smith's leader, Bogans, is a perfect example.

Bogans could have been all about himself this season. He's got NBA aspirations. He gave it a go two years ago, declaring early as a sophomore for the draft, and it didn't work out. Last season he was erratic, but he didn't fret going into this season. He was as intense and focused to lead the Wildcats as any senior who walked through Rupp Arena. The same is true of Camara and Estill.

"I just try and do the right thing," Bogans said. "I know the younger class will respond to us, so we've got to give them positive examples."

"Seniors are key, especially the type we have," Kentucky junior Gerald Fitch said. "Ours are leaders on and off the court. They're the backbone of this team. We all trust them. They've been doing it all year."

A turning point for Kentucky came after the Louisville loss on Dec. 28. The seniors weren't thrilled with the changes Smith had made with the defense. The trapping schemes weren't the same as last year and weren't comfortable. Smith admits now that he tried to get too fancy and lost the simplicity of his defense. There wasn't as much rhythm offensively, either. Sometimes it takes seniors to notice what's wrong. Sometimes it takes the seniors to say something that it just isn't right.

"What we have here is the type of leadership that you need," Smith said. "All of our leaders want to be a part of something special."

The same goes for Oklahoma, which has a shot at returning to the Final Four, if for no other reason, because of its seniors.

"When you're looking at experience versus talent ... I'll take experienced talent," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "It's hard to beat that. Hollis Price, Ebi Ere and Quannas White don't get rattled. I'd rather have those kids late in the game. When we huddle up, they say 'let's go' or 'it's my ball.' That's leadership."

There is a caveat to this senior leadership. And, let's not kid ourselves. Not every senior is locked in, ready to lead his respective team to the title. Others don't have enough help (see: Josh Howard with Wake Forest or David West at Xavier) to win six straight games. Others need to ensure they bring their 'A' games, like the Florida trio of Brett Nelson, Bonner and Justin Hamilton, before getting all giddy about any title chances.

"We know what it takes to move on game after game," said Nelson, although the Gators got bounced in the first round last season and the second round in 2001 after reaching the title game in 2000. "Juan Dixon and those guys at Maryland knew how to handle success after going to their second Final Four. Me, Matt and Justin know how to do it, but it will be a bigger challenge for Matt (Walsh) and Anthony (Roberson) as to how they'll handle it."

The "it'' is the attention, the 30,000 fans in a Dome, the constant media questioning and the national television exposure that is bigger than any regular-season game.

"These games are filled with a lot more emotion," Hamilton said. "Guys make mistakes and they can't hang their heads after every play. That's where the older guys, the seniors, have to tell them that they can't do that."

When it comes to winning a national championship, like those before them, this year's seniors know best.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.