Top 5 highest scoring men's basketball national championship games of all time

As Purdue and UConn prepare to play for the national championship on Monday night, it's worth pondering whether the game will be a high-scoring shootout. Both teams have strong offenses, ranking in the top 10 of college basketball teams in scoring.

At the same time, neither team seems especially likely to break out into a free-form shooting extravaganza. But if they're in the mood, here's the company – the highest-scoring title games in NCAA history.

Top 5 highest-scoring men's basketball national championship games

Jerry Tarkanian, shown far right with fellow 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, led a beatdown in one of the highest-scoring NCAA title games ever in 1990.

#5, 1965 (171 total points)

UCLA had started its title-winning string the previous year under John Wooden and trumped Michigan 91-80 in this game. Frankly, it was a good performance by Michigan, as it was UCLA's only NCAA Tournament game under 100 points.

Guard Gail Goodrich was UCLA's star all year, averaging 24.8 points per game. Three other Bruins averaged between 11.6 and 12.9 ppg. In the title game, Goodrich scored 42 points, connecting on 18 of 20 free throws. As a team, UCLA shot 56.9%. Cazzie Russell paced Michigan with 28 points. The Wolverines shot 51.6% in defeat as UCLA won its second straight title.

#4, 1990 (176 total points)

The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded UNLV Rebels blasted No. 3 seed Duke 103-73 in this dominating performance. UNLV shot 61% overall and 8 of 14 (57%) from 3-point range. Duke shot 43% but had 23 turnovers.

Anderson Hunt led UNLV with 29 points and All-American Larry Johnson added 22 points and 11 rebounds. Duke was led by Phil Henderson's 21 points. Bobby Hurley had just two points and played poorly. A season later, Duke overtook UNLV in the national semifinal and then won its first NCAA title.

#3, 1975 (177 total points)

This was John Wooden's final game, and he went out a winner as UCLA bested Kentucky 92-85. Kenny Washington had 28 points and 12 rebounds as UCLA shot 49%. Kevin Greevey scored 34 points for Kentucky. The Wildcats shot just 38%.

UCLA was 28-3 on the season and snuck past Louisville in the semifinals. After that victory, Wooden announced that the championship game would be his last game. Kentucky was 26-5 and had topped unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Indiana in their regional final.

#2, 1964 (181 total points)

This was John Wooden's first NCAA championship, and his Bruins won a 98-83 decision over Duke. Junior Gail Goodrich and senior Walt Hazzard formed a fearsome UCLA backcourt. Goodrich finished with 27 points, while Jeff Mullins paced Duke with 22 points. The Bruins shot 47% and went 26 of 32 from the free-throw line.

Duke was offensively balanced, scoring 50 points in the first half and 48 in the second half. This was Wooden's 16th season at UCLA and only his second Final Four. Suffice it to say that with 10 NCAA titles between 1964 and 1975, Wooden made up for lost time.

#1,1978 (182 total points)

Kentucky bested Duke 94-88 in the highest-scoring championship game in NCAA history. Kentucky lost only two games all year and was No. 1 for most of the season. Duke was something of a surprise, making its first Final Four in 12 years.

Kentucky was led by All-American Jack Givens, who put up 41 points on 18-for-27 shooting. Rick Robey added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Duke had three players who topped 20 points, led by Gene Banks with 22 points. Late in the game, with Kentucky's lead seemingly safe, coach Joe B. Hall pulled his starters. Duke trimmed the lead to four late, forcing Hall to reinsert his starters.

The championship was Kentucky's first in 20 years and the first under a coach other than Adolph Rupp.

Can Purdue and UConn put up more than 182 combined points in the championship game? Would it take a Givens-like game from Zach Edey to set a new record?