The best offenses in men’s college basketball, 2019-20

Last year, a couple of weeks after the college basketball season, I made my deep exploration into the best men’s college basketball offenses in 2018-19. It led to a full summer of exploring these offenses in greater detail, complete with interviews with coaches and a whole lot of GIFs and game-watching. I loved doing it; it only makes sense that I would do it again.

This year, I decided to expand the, uh, “search” to the top 25 across all levels. Why? Well, why not. SO: here are the very best college basketball offenses of the last five months. I’m doing this in a few different ways than usual. This particular ranking is from Synergy Sports. However, for last year’s KenPom-style ratings, I’ll include that top 25 on the next page, along with the top 25 half-court offenses. It just felt fair to pay tribute to the service that works for all levels of college basketball.

Per Synergy Sports, here were the 25 best offenses of the 2019-20 men’s college basketball season. Below is each team’s shot chart, their best play types, shooting splits, and tempo, which is calculated via Ken Pomeroy’s equation on the next page.

25. Briar Cliff Chargers (Sioux City, IA)

• Points Per Possession: 1.036
• Best Play Types (90th-percentile or higher): P&R Ball Handler (99th-percentile); Spot-Up (97th-percentile); P&R Roll Man (96th-percentile); ranked in 100th-percentile on P&R as a whole
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 39% Rim (any attempt within 4 feet of the rim), 12% Non-Rim Twos, 49% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.6% Rim, 38.5% Non-Rim Twos, 39.2% 3PT
• Tempo: 70.22 possessions (would have ranked 114th of 353 in D-1)

24. Yeshiva Maccabees (New York, NY)

• Points Per Possession: 1.037
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), Transition (98th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 45.9% Rim, 16% Non-Rim Twos, 38.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65.1% Rim, 46% Non-Rim Twos, 39.6% 3PT
• Tempo: 78.07 possessions (2nd of 353)

23. Brigham Young Cougars (Provo, UT)

• Points Per Possession: 1.039
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), P&R Roll Man (99th), P&R Ball Handler (97th), Post-Up (92nd), 99th-percentile on P&R as a whole
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 26% Rim, 32.5% Non-Rim Twos, 41.5% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 69.4% Rim, 44.4% Non-Rim Twos, 42.2% 3PT
• Tempo: 69.7 possessions (133rd of 353)

22. Western Oregon Wolves (Monmouth, OR)

• Points Per Possession: 1.04
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), Post-Up (93rd)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 39.5% Rim, 17.9% Non-Rim Twos, 42.7% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 62.2% Rim, 39.5% Non-Rim Twos, 40.5% 3PT
• Tempo: 75.33 possessions (7th of 353)

21. Walsh Cavaliers (North Canton, OH)

• Points Per Possession: 1.041
• Best Play Types: Transition (97th), P&R Ball Handler (97th), Spot-Up (96th), Isolation (93rd), 95th-percentile P&Rs
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 36.8% Rim, 19% Non-Rim Twos, 44.2% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.3% Rim, 41.9% Non-Rim Twos, 41.3% 3PT
• Tempo: 70.35 possessions (111th of 353)

20. Gonzaga Bulldogs (Spokane, WA)

• Points Per Possession: 1.041
• Best Play Types: Post-Up (98th), P&R Ball Handler (97th), P&R Roll Man (97th), Spot-Up (93rd), 100th-percentile P&Rs, 96th-percentile post-ups
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 46.1% Rim, 22.6% Non-Rim Twos, 31.3% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65.2% Rim, 41.3% Non-Rim Twos, 38.6% 3PT
• Tempo: 72.6 possessions (36th of 353)

19. Dayton Flyers (Dayton, OH)

• Points Per Possession: 1.041
• Best Play Types: Cuts (99th), Spot-Up (97th), Transition (97th), 98th-percentile P&R
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 40.5% Rim, 20.5% Non-Rim, 39% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 71.5% Rim, 44.1% Non-Rim, 37.1% Threes
• Tempo: 68.0 possessions (233rd of 353)

18. St. John’s Johnnies (St. Joseph, MN)

• Points Per Possession: 1.042
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (98th), Hand-Off (94th), Post-Up (92nd)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 43.6% Rim, 21.2% Non-Rim Twos, 35.2% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 63.6% Rim, 44.8% Non-Rim Twos, 38.8% 3PT
• Tempo: 63.08 possessions (351st of 353)

17. Linfield College Wildcats (McMinnville, OR)

• Points Per Possession: 1.042
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (100th), Transition (95th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 41.6% Rim, 15.9% Non-Rim Twos, 42.5% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 64.9% Rim, 41.7% Non-Rim Twos, 39.1% 3PT
• Tempo: 76.84 possessions (3rd of 353)

16. Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (Lincoln, NE)

• Points Per Possession: 1.044
• Best Play Types: Isolation (100th), Cuts (99th), Transition (97th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 39.8% Rim, 16.8% Non-Rim Twos, 43.4% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 67.4% Rim, 45.8% Non-Rim Twos, 35.8% 3PT
• Tempo: 70.76 possessions (84th of 353)

15. Michigan Tech Huskies (Houghton, MI)

• Points Per Possession: 1.045
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (100th), Cuts (99th), Transition (98th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 32.9% Rim, 26.5% Non-Rim Twos, 40.6% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.1% Rim, 40.8% Non-Rim Twos, 43.4% 3PT
• Tempo: 67.8 possessions (242nd of 353)

14. Bellarmine Knights (Louisville, KY)

• Points Per Possession: 1.046
• Best Play Types: Transition (99th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 42.1% Rim, 23.3% Non-Rim Twos, 34.6% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 66.5% Rim, 40.4% Non-Rim Twos, 39.5% Threes
• Tempo: 66.67 possessions (287th of 353)

13. Lewis-Clark State Warriors (Lewiston, ID)

• Points Per Possession: 1.048
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), Post-Up (97th), 94th-percentile P&R
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 37.5% Rim, 17.9% Non-Rim Twos, 44.6% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.5% Rim, 43.7% Non-Rim Twos, 42% 3PT
• Tempo: 71.25 possessions (65th of 353)

12. Mount Union Raiders (Alliance, OH)

• Points Per Possession: 1.049
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), Transition (98th), Cut (97th), P&R Ball Handler (94th), 99th-percentile P&R
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 40.6% Rim, 18.7% Non-Rim Twos, 40.7% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65.3% Rim, 38.8% Non-Rim Twos, 38.7% 3PT
• Tempo: 71.66 possessions (56th of 353)

11. Jefferson University Rams (Philadelphia, PA)

• Points Per Possession: 1.05
• Best Play Types: P&R Ball Handler (94th), Cuts (94th), Transition (92nd)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 37.8% Rim, 26.1% Non-Rim Twos, 36.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65.3% Rim, 39.6% Non-Rim Twos, 41.4% 3PT
• Tempo: 68.51 possessions (210th of 353)

10. St. Thomas Tommies (St. Paul, MN)

• Points Per Possession: 1.055
• Best Play Types: P&R Ball Handler (98th), Spot-Up (96th), Post-Up (96th), 99th-percentile P&R
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 38.8% Rim, 13.5% Non-Rim Twos, 47.7% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.1% Rim, 41.8% Non-Rim Twos, 38% 3PT
• Tempo: 69.39 possessions (152nd of 353)

9. Morningside College Mustangs (Sioux City, IA)

• Points Per Possession: 1.057
• Best Play Types: Cuts (99th), Spot-Up (98th), Post-Up (96th), P&R Ball Handler (92nd), 99th-percentile all post-ups
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 48.9% Rim, 15% Non-Rim Twos, 36.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 64.7% Rim, 43.8% Non-Rim Twos, 39.6% 3PT
• Tempo: 71.37 possessions (63rd of 353)

8. West Liberty Hilltoppers (West Liberty, WV)

• Points Per Possession: 1.061
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (98th), Hand-Off (94th), Transition (89th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 45.5% Rim, 16.3% Non-Rim Twos, 38.2% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.6% Rim, 39.2% Non-Rim Twos, 40.7% 3PT
• Tempo: 81.03 possessions (1st of 353)

7. Olivet Nazarene Tigers (Bourbonnais, IL)

• Points Per Possession: 1.063
• Best Play Types: Post-Up (100th), Spot-Up (99th), Cuts (93rd), Transition (92nd), 97th-percentile P&Rs
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 45.7% Rim, 17% Non-Rim Twos, 37.3% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 62.8% Rim, 38.6% Non-Rim Twos, 40.2% 3PT
• Tempo: 75.51 possessions (7th of 353)

6. Marian Knights (Indianapolis, IN)

• Points Per Possession: 1.065
• Best Play Types: Transition (96th), Spot-Up (94th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 43.9% Rim, 21.7% Non-Rim Twos, 34.4% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 61.9% Rim, 40.5% Non-Rim Twos, 43.5% 3PT
• Tempo: 72.53 possessions (37th of 353)

5. Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (Marion, IN)

• Points Per Possession: 1.068
• Best Play Types: Post-Up (100th), P&R Ball Handler (98th), Transition (96th), Cuts (96th), Spot-Up (94th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 48.7% Rim, 15.1% Non-Rim Twos, 36.2% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65.4% Rim, 46% Non-Rim Twos, 39.3% 3PT
• Tempo: 75.1 possessions (8th of 353)

4. Nova Southeastern Sharks (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)

• Points Per Possession: 1.078
• Best Play Types: Cuts (96th), P&R Ball Handler (93rd), Spot-Up (90th)
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 44% Rim, 22.9% Non-Rim Twos, 33.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65% Rim, 45.7% Non-Rim Twos, 41.9% 3PT
• Tempo: 81.51 possessions (1st of 353)

3. Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (Harrogate, TN)

• Points Per Possession: 1.081
• Best Play Types: Spot-Up (99th), Cuts (99th), P&R Ball Handler (99th), 97th-percentile P&Rs
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 45.9% Rim, 9.8% Non-Rim Twos, 45.3% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 65% Rim, 44.1% Non-Rim Twos, 40.6% 3PT
• Tempo: 78.32 possessions (2nd of 353)

2. UC San Diego Tritons (San Diego, CA)

• Points Per Possession: 1.095
• Best Play Types: Cuts (100th), Spot-Up (99th), Transition (98th), 96th-percentile P&Rs
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 33.9% Rim, 13% Non-Rim Twos, 53.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 68% Rim, 43.5% Non-Rim Twos, 40.1% 3PT
• Tempo: 69.39 possessions (152nd of 353)

1. Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (Maryville, MO)

• Points Per Possession: 1.146
• Best Play Types: Every single play type but P&R Roll Man (82nd) and Hand-Offs (74th). Literally every one.
• Percentage of Shots Attempted: 42% Rim, 12.9% Non-Rim Twos, 45.1% Threes
• Shots Made by Category: 62.5% Rim, 46.3% Non-Rim Twos, 45% 3PT
• Tempo: 64.85 possessions (337th of 353)

NEXT PAGE: Top 25 via traditional possession calculations; top 25 half-court offenses