NCAA basketball: Champions Classic headlines 6 best college basketball games of the week

The Champions Classic and a pair of tough non-conference tests for no. 1 Gonzaga highlight the must-watch NCAA basketball games of the week.

The opening week of the college basketball season is in the books and it was a bit messy. An uneven testing policy for the coronavirus led some teams to play even though a member of their Tier 1 personnel tested positive while other schools had to reschedule on the fly due to a 14-day shutdown.

That has made this feature a bit challenging, but we will note that all games listed in this week’s games of the week column were officially scheduled as of post time on Monday. Let’s start with a look at one of the season’s signature events, the Champions Classic, which is being held in two separate locations thanks to the pandemic.

State Farm Champions Classic: Michigan State (2-0) at Duke (1-0) – Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

The first matchup of the Champions Classic sees Michigan State, one of the Big Ten‘s top teams, take on Duke in a rematch of their classic 2019 NCAA Tournament matchup. The Spartans have gotten off to a fast start thanks to wins over Oakland and Notre Dame while Duke defended its home court with a ten-point win over Coppin State on Saturday. Freshman Jalen Johnson got 19 points and 19 rebounds in the win as he looks to become the latest Blue Devils’ prodigy to become a future NBA lottery pick. This contest will be held on campus as the two programs looked to play this game in a situation where coronavirus protocols would be mutually agreeable.

State Farm Champions Classic: Kansas (1-1) vs. Kentucky (1-1) – Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

The benefit of the Champions Classic taking place at two separate locations is that the TV audience won’t have to wait a half-hour between games. Each school has a loss on their resume at this point but both have come in different fashions. The Jayhawks got beaten in Fort Myers by top-ranked Gonzaga before bouncing back with a win over St. Joe’s over the weekend. Kentucky, on the other hand, blew out Morehead State before losing at home to Richmond, making this matchup in Indianapolis a huge opportunity for both sides to pick up a marquee win in non-conference play.

Jimmy V Classic: West Virginia (3-0) vs. Gonzaga (2-0) – Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

This is the first of two opportunities to check out Gonzaga this week, which has made a statement with a dominant run in its first two games. The Bulldogs easily handled Kansas in Fort Myers before blowing out a good Auburn team the following day, making them the emphatic top dogs in college basketball at the moment. The Jimmy V Classic features a showdown with West Virginia, who agreed to play in this game after Tennessee was forced out of it due to a COVID pause. The Mountaineers have beaten all three mid-majors they’ve played to this point but this will be a big step up in weight class for one of the Big 12’s top contenders.

Gonzaga (2-0) vs. Baylor (2-0) – Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS

Let’s stick with Gonzaga here as they stay in Indianapolis for a matchup of the top two teams in the preseason polls. This matchup with Baylor has been highly anticipated since the schedule was made and gives us a chance to see how these two titans match up on a neutral floor. Baylor’s schedule was altered after head coach Scott Drew contracted coronavirus, forcing the Bears out of the Empire Classic in the Mohegan Sun bubble, but Baylor rescheduled to pick up a pair of wins against Louisiana-Lafayette and Washington out in Las Vegas. Those two games, along with a scheduled matchup against Illinois earlier in the week, should give the Bears plenty of prep to get ready for this game.

Mid-Major Game of the Week: Furman (2-0) at Richmond (2-0) – Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+

This week’s mid-major spotlight is a big one as two potential Cinderellas square off in Richmond on Saturday. The Spiders put themselves on the map by shocking Kentucky at Rupp Arena last Sunday and have the kind of loaded roster that will make them the team to beat out of the Atlantic 10. This matchup brings in Furman, one of the best teams in the perennially underrated Southern Conference, which produced Wofford’s incredible team two years ago. The Paladins return four starters from last year’s 25-7 team, including a loaded frontcourt with upperclassmen Noah Gurley and Clay Mounce, as they look to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980.

Big East-Big 12 Battle: Villanova (2-1) at Texas (1-0) – Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Our final game to check out this week features a stiff non-conference test for Villanova as they hit the road to take on the Longhorns. The Wildcats had a fun stay in the Mohegan Sun bubble during the season’s opening week, scoring two wins before suffering a shocking upset loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. That defeat is likely a fluke as Villanova remains loaded, making this contest very important for Shaka Smart’s team. Texas will have only two games under their belt before this matchup so getting a win at home would afford the Longhorns a huge amount of wiggle room with their resume before they enter conference play.

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