Michigan State basketball had one heck of a week.
The Spartans fought off an upset effort by Oregon to beat the Ducks by 16 on the road, improving to 17-2 before a trip back home to the Breslin Center over the weekend against Maryland.
Michigan State left no doubt against the Terrapins, blowing their doors off by 43 points, 91-48. It was one of the most dominant efforts in the Tom Izzo era, and it felt like the Spartans could do no wrong. They shot incredibly from the floor, made a good amount of threes, played elite defense, and assisted on almost all of their field goal makes.
Michigan State won its sixth straight Big Ten game by double figures, and the Spartans are now the nation’s best team since Jan. 1, according to several metrics including KenPom and Torvik.
I will admit, however, that I didn’t think wins over Oregon and Maryland would be enough to impress AP voters, and move the Spartans up into the top 10. I fully expected Michigan State to remain at No. 10 despite two teams ahead of the Spartans losing, and a third (Gonzaga) almost losing to an unranked team at home.
I was wrong.
Michigan State basketball sees healthy jump in AP Top 25
The latest AP Top 25 came out on Monday afternoon, and Michigan State saw one of its biggest jumps in weeks, going from No. 10 all the way up to No. 7.
Michigan State stayed ahead of Illinois despite the Illini winning at Maryland without their starting point guard, and the Spartans jumped Houston, Purdue, and Iowa State. It was rather surprising to see AP voters give 18-2 Michigan State the respect that it deserves. It’s refreshing.
The latest rankings prove just how good the top of the Big Ten is, too. Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams ranked in the top seven, and one of four from the conference in the top nine. There are also five Big Ten teams in the top 12. Those are the only ranked teams in the conference, although Iowa is the fourth team receiving votes on the outside looking in.
The conference is incredibly top-heavy, and Michigan State is right there.