Fansided

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

By Nathaniel Reeves

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Jalen Brunson #1 of the and head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats talk during the Big East Basketball Tournament - Semifinals against the Seton Hall Pirates at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2017 in New York City. The Wildcats won 55-53. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Jalen Brunson #1 of the and head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats talk during the Big East Basketball Tournament - Semifinals against the Seton Hall Pirates at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2017 in New York City. The Wildcats won 55-53. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Here’s what to watch for in week five of the 2017-18 college basketball regular season.

Following a loaded week three slate, a few top teams in college basketball are quickly beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

The week three schedule was headlined by the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, with the ACC earning a dominating 11-3 victory. While the Big Ten has a lot of work to do before March, Michigan State at least managed to earn the most impressive victory of the week by taking down Notre Dame 81-63, and looks to be much improved since losing to Duke earlier in the season.

Miami picked up the best victory on the ACC side, as the Hurricanes earned a strong road win at Minnesota and will now climb further up the top 10. Other key nonconference games around the country included Xavier picked up a pair of impressive wins against Baylor and archrival Cincinnati, plus Gonzaga shooting the lights out in the second half of a win over Creighton.

While the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and holiday tournaments are in the books, plenty of crucial nonconference matchups await. Here are the best games to watch in the upcoming college basketball week.

Texas A&M vs. Arizona, Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ET

A top-10 Texas A&M team will get a chance to add to its resume on Tuesday night in Phoenix against Arizona, which is in desperate need of a big win after the disastrous showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Aggies entered the season with high hopes and made a statement in their opener with a 88-65 destruction of West Virginia in Germany despite missing lottery pick Robert Williams. Texas A&M has kept it going with six straight wins since, including an easy road victory over a USC team that could be the class of the Pac-12.

Offseason FBI investigation aside, the Wildcats looked like a clear-cut national championship threat behind a combination of returning talent and a loaded recruiting class. Arizona finished dead last in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament with three straight losses to NC State, SMU and Purdue, dropping them from No. 2 to outside the AP top 25 altogether.

Williams is a tough cover on the interior with 8.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest, and has plenty of support with forwards DJ Hogg and Tyler Davis putting up huge numbers. That will make for an interesting matchup with DeAndre Ayton, as the 7-1 freshman is piling up 20.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

Even with the Wildcats struggling so far, Texas A&M can further announce itself as an SEC title contender by beating such a high-profile program. A fourth loss on the season already would raise some major red flags for the Wildcats, while a win could show the trip to the Bahamas was more of an anomaly.