College Basketball Watchability Rankings: 5 games to watch in Week 3

Here are the five best college basketball games to watch in week three of the 2017-18 regular season.

College basketball fans around the nation were treated to a thrilling slate of early-season tournament action last week, with another loaded schedule to come in the next few days.

The inaugural PK80 promised a number of terrific nonconference matchups and did not disappoint with some fantastic basketball over four days in Portland. Michigan State captured the Victory Bracket title with a stymieing defensive performance against North Carolina, while Duke mounted a huge comeback to take own a terrific Florida team in the Motion Bracket final.

While Villanova capturing the Battle 4 Atlantis title isn’t a surprise, the rest of the tournament went nothing according to plan, including No. 2 Arizona stunningly leaving the Bahamas with a 0-3 record. The Maui Invitational final will also have an impact on the rankings after Notre Dame outlasted Wichita State 67-66 in a classic.

There won’t be any break for college basketball fans, as the upcoming has a number of crucial nonconference games on the schedule, headlined by the always entertaining Big 10/ACC challenge. Here are the five best games to watch in week three of the 2017-18 college basketball season.

Seton Hall vs. Texas Tech, Thursday 6:30 p.m. ET

The Red Raiders have been one of the most surprising teams in college basketball so far and will have a chance to pick up a marquee win against Seton Hall on Thursday evening at Madison Square Garden.

Second-year head coach Chris Beard has Texas Tech off to a 6-0 start, and the Red Raiders cracked the top 25 of the AP Poll for the first time since January of 2010. While a few of those victories have come against weak competition, the Red Raiders turned heads with an 85-49 obliteration of then-No. 20 Northwestern on Nov. 19, and also dealt Boston College its only loss of the season.

After leading the team in scoring a year ago, senior Keenan Evans is off to another hot start with 15 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field. Evans is surrounded by a strong supporting cast, as freshmen Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith are making important contributions.

With a ton of production returning, Seton Hall opened the season ranked 23rd and was projected to be one of the top teams in the Big East behind Villanova. The Pirates jumped to No. 20 during a 4-0 start with wins over Monmouth and Indiana before dropping a 75-74 decision to Rhode Island on Thursday, although they quickly recovered by topping Vanderbilt the next night.

Senior center Angel Delgado is a load on the interior for anyone to handle with 14 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest in the early going. With fellow seniors Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington also putting up huge numbers, Seton Hall has the depth and experience to end Texas Tech’s undefeated run.

Texas Tech won’t have another great opportunity to boost its resume in nonconference play, so a win over Seton Hall could be huge for a team that collapsed down the stretch a year ago.