Fansided

College basketball games this week: Top 10 games to watch, including Villanova vs. Baylor

By Mike Phillips

VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 04: Jordan Hall #22 of the Saint Joseph's Hawks and Erik Reynolds II #2 of the Saint Joseph's Hawks guard Brandon Slater #3 of the Villanova Wildcats during the second half at Finneran Pavilion on December 04, 2021 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 04: Jordan Hall #22 of the Saint Joseph's Hawks and Erik Reynolds II #2 of the Saint Joseph's Hawks guard Brandon Slater #3 of the Villanova Wildcats during the second half at Finneran Pavilion on December 04, 2021 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A tremendous doubleheader at the Jimmy V Classic and a Top-10 showdown in Waco highlight this week’s college basketball schedule.

The college basketball season is just over a month old and there has been plenty of exciting action. Dramatic upsets, like Duke’s loss to Ohio State last week, have led to plenty of shuffling atop the polls as there isn’t a clear favorite to win the national championship like Gonzaga was last season.

The non-conference portion of the schedule is starting to wind down as leagues like the Big Ten and Pac-12 have started to mix in their early conference games but there are still plenty of attractive non-league matchups on this week’s schedule. Let’s take a dive into the 10 games that all diehard college basketball fans should find a way to watch in Week 5.

Top 10 games on the Week 5 college basketball schedule

Jimmy V Classic – Texas Tech vs. Tennessee – Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

This year’s Jimmy V Classic has an excellent field headed to New York, including its opener with Texas Tech taking on Tennessee. The Red Raiders suffered their first loss of the season at Providence and will look to bounce back by scoring a victory against a very good Tennessee team that already has a win over North Carolina on its resume.

Jimmy V Classic – Villanova vs. Syracuse – Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

The second half of the Jimmy V Classic features an old Big East grudge match between Villanova and Syracuse. The two bitter rivals have met just twice since Syracuse departed for the ACC in 2014 with the Wildcats scoring an 82-77 victory when the teams last met in 2014.

Indiana at Wisconsin – Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network

This early-season Big Ten matchup is a huge one for Indiana, which has put together an impressive 7-1 start under first-year coach Mike Woodson with the lone loss being a two-point defeat at Syracuse in double-overtime. The Hoosiers hit the road here to take on Wisconsin in a game that could prove to be a statement-maker that Indiana is a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.

Big East-Big 12 Battle – Texas at Seton Hall – Thursday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1

The Longhorns haven’t played a difficult non-conference game since losing at Gonzaga in the first week of the season. That changes here as Texas hits the road to take on Seton Hall, which has climbed into the polls on the strength of a 7-1 record where the lone defeat came by three against Ohio State on a neutral floor in Fort Myers.

Iowa at Iowa State – Thursday, Dec. 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2

This in-state showdown has risen up the must-watch rankings thanks to surprisingly strong starts from the Hawkeyes and the undefeated Cyclones, who are off to an 8-0 start after a stunning win over Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn. Iowa has acquitted itself well despite the loss of Luka Garza, giving No. 1 Purdue a big scare last week in its lone loss of the season.

Arkansas at Oklahoma – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2

The Razorbacks enter the week as one of just 12 undefeated teams but they will face their stiffest road test so far as they hit the road to take on Oklahoma. Porter Moser’s team has already upset one ranked SEC team at home by toppling Florida last week and will look to add another resume-building victory here.

UCLA at Marquette – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX

The Bruins will have had a nine-day layoff heading into this one thanks to a COVID forfeit from Washington over the weekend. That rust could be problematic against Marquette, which has already scored wins against Illinois and West Virginia this season.

Arizona at Illinois – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 5:00 p.m. ET on FOX

Tommy Noble has done a tremendous job taking over for Sean Miller at Arizona to pilot the Wildcats well inside the AP Top 25 rankings. This game is a dangerous one as Illinois has been a much more difficult team to play against since Kofi Cockburn returned from a three-game suspension to start the season.

Houston at Alabama – Saturday, Dec. 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Alabama rode some incredible shooting to pick up a marquee win against Gonzaga in Seattle on Saturday and face another great non-conference test against Houston. Kelvin Sampson’s team is always rugged defensively, giving up just 54.5 points per game entering the week, and could look to copy Iona’s pressure game plan that helped lead to the Crimson Tide’s lone loss of the year.

Big East – Big 12 Battle – Villanova at Baylor – Sunday, Dec. 12 at 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC

The week’s best game falls smack in the middle of an NFL Sunday but any serious college hoops fan finds a way to watch a showdown between two Top 10 teams. Baylor took it easy last week after dominating the Battle 4 Atlantis and will need to kick it back into high gear to take on a battle-tested Villanova team that has already played a true road game against UCLA as well as neutral-site tilts against Tennessee, Purdue and Syracuse.

Next. NCAA basketball bucket list. dark

For more NCAA basketball news, analysis, opinion and features, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.