MSU Soars in Latest AP Poll Following 'Monstrous' Week
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Michigan State is beginning to assert itself as one of the best teams in the country.
The Spartans just wrapped up what may be their most impressive victory of the season, taking down then-No. 8 Purdue on the road on Thursday, 76-74, and then led wire-to-wire against Indiana on the road Sunday in a 77-64 win there. Tom Izzo called it a "monstrous" week for his team following the win of the Hoosiers.
MSU now suddenly sits at 24-5 on the season with a 14-4 record during Big Ten play. When the AP Poll was officially updated on Monday afternoon, Michigan State shot up five spots, going from 13th in the country to No. 8.
This is the second-best ranking the Spartans have had all season, just behind when they were ranked seventh on Jan. 26. MSU is also now the second-highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, only behind No. 3 Michigan --- those teams will face off on Sunday, March 8 in Ann Arbor.
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The push for March from Michigan State feels pretty real. MSU was largely projected to end up being a 4 seed in March Madness prior to its game in West Lafayette. After upsetting the Boilermakers and out-dueling the Hoosiers and picking up two more Quad 1 wins to its resume, the possibility of the Spartans landing a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament almost feels probable.
Michigan State would possibly get that second seed if the bracket was made right now. The key now is to maintain that status as a top-8 team in the country. There is work ahead of MSU before it can feel good about that chance headed into Selection Sunday.
It starts with the Spartans' Senior Night game against Rutgers on Thursday night. To put it nicely, the Scarlet Knights are... bad. Currently standing at 158th in the NET rankings, Thursday's game in East Lansing barely into Quad 3 territory for Michigan State (if Rutgers was ranked 160th or worse, it would be a Q4 game). MSU nearly lost to Rutgers in Piscataway earlier this season, so potentially overlooking the Scarlet Knights probably shouldn't be too much of a concern, even with the Wolverines lurking right around the corner.
Winning that game would also clinch a top-4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which would take Michigan State straight to the quarterfinal round. That game against UM, which has already sealed an outright conference regular season title, is also a massive, massive opportunity. Winning that one would really further MSU's momentum into the postseason.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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