NCAA Basketball: 8 underrated must-watch games of Week 3

There are going to be a lot of great NCAA basketball matchups during Feast Week and many more that will fly under the radar.

Saint Louis vs Pittsburgh

Wednesday, November 21st

A set of undefeated teams, this game will similarly earn its winner a nice resume boost and a shot of confidence moving into December. Saint Louis hasn’t looked as convincing as expected early in the year but pulled off a nice win at Seton Hall last week. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, will be looking for its first decent win in its first trip away from home after they played their first five games at Petersen.

Yale at Vermont

Wednesday, November 21st

Vermont has been the team to beat in the America East over the past few seasons but is sitting at 2-2 after being unable to pull out a win in a few big tests at Kansas and Louisville. Yale was an afterthought in the Ivy behind favorites Penn and Harvard entering the season but pulled out a double-digit win in China over Cal and drug Memphis to double overtime at FedEx Forum before losing. This is a big game for two New England schools looking to make a statement.

Harvard at USF

Wednesday, November 21st

Speaking of Harvard, the Crimson will head out to San Francisco to face a USF team that has won each of its four games by over 30 points (and only one was against a non-division one opponent). The Dons’ big test at home against Arizona State, a game which ESPN had USF slightly favored, was canceled due to the California wildfires, but Tommy Amaker’s squad will be a big win for San Francisco if they can pull it off.

Marshall at Maryland

Friday, November 23rd

Marshall’s high-octane offense and dangerous backcourt of Jon Elmore and CJ Burks will finally be tested against a Terps squad that has looked good since a less-than-convincing performance to open the season against Delaware. Marshall and Maryland both scheduled Mount Saint Mary’s and Hofstra in a bit of an unofficial tournament (the Pride and Mountaineers also played each other) and both produced similar results at home against each team.

Princeton at Monmouth

Saturday, November 24th

This might be a bit of hometown bias, but in a week dominated by the scoreboard reading “TBD vs. TBD” more times than I want to count, I think I’m allowed some leeway. Two years ago, this would’ve been a game between two schools that were dominating their respective conferences. In November of 2018, the central Jersey opponents separated by a few dozen miles of I-195 will each be looking for their first D-I wins of the year. Princeton isn’t in as deep of a hole as Monmouth, though, who is 0-6.

DePaul at Notre Dame

Saturday, November 24th

Notre Dame is still probably stung by a head-scratching loss to Radford while DePaul is lucky to have escaped a late charge by Penn State to win their most recent game. We still don’t know how bad Penn State is going to be, so we don’t know what to make of DePaul fumbling their way through them on home court. This is really a game between two teams that, one way or the other, could really use some insight as to where they stand right now.

Northeastern at Davidson

Saturday, November 24th

A rematch in November! Davidson defeated Northeastern last week at the Charleston Classic after Northeastern’s surprising win over Alabama, and they’ll be hosting the Huskies this Saturday looking for the sweep. Two wins over CAA favorite Northeastern would be great for Davidson’s resume, but don’t expect the Huskies to roll over (get it?) after battling the Cats tough in Charleston.

Houston at BYU

Saturday, November 24th

Both of these teams probably have internal expectations higher than projected by the hoops media entering this season. Houston lost Rob Gray and Elijah Bryant left BYU, but neither school is aiming anywhere but the NCAA Tournament. This will be a really nice win for whichever team can come away with it, but the smart money is definitely on the Cougars.