March Madness offenses: Ranking the top 10 men's NCAA tournament offenses by KenPom

Defense wins championships, but offense attracts fans. Oftentimes, the best moments from March Madness come from shootouts that result in remarkable upsets. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the highest-scorers tend to be the teams that fans want to watch most.

That begs the question, "Which teams have the best offenses in this year's tournament?" Most fans would consider that a subjective question. Just because a team scores the most points doesn't necessarily mean they can overcome the best defenses like other teams can. The best scorers don't necessarily lead the best offenses either. That's all true, so the best metric we can go by is KenPom's adjusted offense.

Adjusted offense is meant to not only be a measure of how many points a team scores per 100 possessions, but also adjusted for their strength of schedule. It's not a perfect metric, but it's well-regarded as the closest analysts can come to a definitive offensive ranking. 

Here are the top-ten offenses in this year's NCAA tournament.

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10) Auburn Tigers: 120.5 Adjusted Offense Rating

As great as Auburn's offense is, their defense has been their strong suit, ranking fifth in the nation in KenPom adjusted defense rating. The Tigers have scored at least 80 points in six of their last eight games, and they've been hot as of late, shooting over 30 percent from deep in each of their last eight games. 

The Tigers are led by junior forward Johni Broome, who is averaging nearly four points more per game (16.2) than the next-closest Tiger, Jaylin Williams (12.4). Even scarier than Broome's incredible scoring prowess though is Auburn's ability to score deep from every position. Each of Auburn's top five scorers are shooting over 30% from beyond the arc. 

9) Gonzaga Bulldogs: 121.0 Adjusted Offense Rating

Led by forwards Graham Ike and Anton Watson, the Gonzaga Bulldogs don't take as many shots from outside the arc as many other teams on this list, but are still top-ten in KenPom offensive rating due to their efficiency from inside the arc. Each of Gonzaga's top six scorers have shot over 50% from two throughout the season. 

8) Arizona Wildcats: 121.1 Adjusted Offense Rating

The Arizona Wildcats have a few players who can take over games. Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell can almost single-handedly win Arizona games. At the same time though, when they struggle the entire Wildcats team struggles. Of all teams in the top-ten in KenPom offensive efficiency, only Auburn has a better adjusted defense rating than Arizona. With that in mind, the Wildcats are a serious contender for the national championship, perhaps even more than North Carolina who is the No. 1 seed to Arizona's No. 2 seed in the West Region.

7) Duke Blue Devils: 121.8 Adjusted Offense Rating

With five players averaging double figures, the Duke Blue Devils are one of the deeper offenses in the NCAA Tournament this year. The team runs through center Kyle Filipowski, and unfortunately, that sometimes hurts the Blue Devils. The team is 1-5 when Filipowski attempts 17 or more field goals in a game. That said, the Blue Devils are very capable of playing fast-paced, guard-oriented games, and that is where they are at their best. 

6) Baylor Bears: 122.4 Adjusted Offense Rating

Baylor boasts one of the most balanced offenses in the NCAA Tournament with five different players averaging at least seven field goals a game this year, and none averaging more than 11. The Bears are also top-ten in the nation in three-point percentage at a staggering 38.8%. That type of offense is tough to defend. 

5) Kentucky Wildcats: 122.7 Adjusted Offense Rating

Remember what I just said about Baylor? Well, the Wildcats lead college basketball in three-point percentage at an unheard of 41.2%. Reed Sheppard has averaged over four three-point attempts per game all season and is still hitting more than 50% of his shots from deep. Although Kentucky's defense has sometimes let them down this season, their offense has been absolutely spectacular and could help carry them to a deep March Madness run.

4) Purdue Boilermakers: 125.0 Adjusted Offense Rating

Zach Edey is going to get all the attention on this Purdue Boilermakers' offense, and rightfully so, but he's not the only player who can light up a scoreboard on this Purdue team. Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer are each averaging more than 17 points per 40 minutes.

3) Alabama Crimson Tide: 125.5 Adjusted Offense Rating

Alabama men's basketball has been known for their potent offense for years now. Unfortunately, that hasn't resulted in many deep tournament runs. Although Mark Sears has established himself as one of college basketball's top scorers, the team will need to improve on defense, where the Crimson Tide rank 112th in KenPom adjusted defense.

2) Illinois Fighting Illini: 125.5 Adjusted Offense Rating

Led by seniors Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask, the Illini have created a remarkably high-powered offense that flows through just two players. Even when both of these players go cold though, guys like Coleman Hawkins have been able to step up consistently. Hawkins, 6-10, is hitting 37% of his shots from three, making him a versatile player that fits whatever offense Illinois needs to run.

1) UConn Huskies: 126.5 Adjusted Offense Rating

No surprise here. The defending NCAA champions and favorites for the 2024 title hold the most efficient offense in college basketball according to KenPom. The Huskies have numerous players who can take over games, including Tristen Newton (15.2 PPG), Cam Spencer (14.5 PPG), Alex Karaban (13.9 PPG), and Donovan Clingan (12.5 PPG). Even if the Huskies turn to their bench though, the team has several proven players outside their starting five capable of scoring when necessary. In fact, there are only three players that scored less than 10 points per 40 minutes of play time this year, and they played 91, 40, and eight total minutes.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking the top 10 offenses in the 2024 NCAA men's tournament