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College Basketball Watchability Rankings: 5 games to watch in Week 7

By Nathaniel Reeves

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats directs his team during the Citi Hoops Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats directs his team during the Citi Hoops Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Here are the five best college basketball games to watch in week seven of the 2017-18 regular season.

With nonconference play rapidly coming to an end, top college basketball teams around the nation will try to strengthen their resumes before entering the grind of the league schedule.

While week six offered a light schedule on paper, a few significant results led to some major changes in the AP Poll and current projected NCAA Tournament seeding. The big winner of the week was Oklahoma, which earned an impressive 91-83 road win over Wichita State behind freshman sensation Trae Young, who is leading college basketball with 28.8 points per game.

In the only matchup between ranked teams this week, North Carolina pushed its winning streak to five games with a hard-fought 78-73 win at Tennessee on Sunday. Arizona State also continued its torrid 10-0 start with a victory over Vanderbilt, while Kentucky is also rising further up the top 10 after an entertaining win over a good Virginia Tech team over the weekend.

There are no ranked matchups on the schedule for week seven with a holiday break coming up, but a few intriguing games are still worth keeping an eye on.

UConn at Arizona, Thursday 9:00 p.m. ET

Kevin Ollie and the Huskies are in desperate need of a major win, and will now face a trip to one of the toughest environments in college basketball to face a rapidly improving Arizona team.

UConn is off to a 7-3 start in what ultimately could be a make-or-break season for Ollie just four years after winning a national championship. The Huskies looked awful in the PK80 with blowout losses against Michigan State and Arkansas, and were fortunate to beat the likes of Columbia and Monmouth in narrow victories shortly after.

Arizona has also endured a rocky 8-3 campaign, although the Wildcats currently own a five-game winning streak since the miserable showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wildcats have earned a number of good victories during the streak, including a three-point win over Texas A&M and overtime triumph over against UNLV.

Despite the waning confidence in the coaching staff, the Huskies have the talent to at least find success in the AAC with Jalen Adams and Terry Larrier leading the way. Arizona has Final Four potential when playing at its best, as 7-1 freshman DeAndre Ayton is one of the most dominant players in college basketball, while Allonzo Trier is piling up over 23 points per game.

If the Huskies can somehow earn a victory at the raucous McKale Center, their season could be completely changed with a very difficult schedule ahead over the next two weeks. The Wildcats will also be eager to earn another top 100 win before their showdown with Arizona State on Dec. 30.