MSU Basketball Receives Bump in Latest AP Rankings
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Michigan State basketball is beginning to gain some ground in the national discussion.
The Spartans, who have been ranked 12th in the last two AP Polls, have risen two spots to 10th when the rankings were updated Monday afternoon. This is the team's first top-10 ranking since it slid following the loss to now-No. 7 Nebraska. MSU's rise comes in after a 2-0 week that featured a 19-point victory over Indiana and a 17-point victory at Washington.
There are two more games on the docket for Michigan State before the rankings get updated once again. MSU (16-2 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) will be in Eugene on Tuesday night to take on Oregon (8-10, 1-6). Following that, the Spartans return to East Lansing to host Maryland (8-10, 1-6) on Saturday. KenPom gives Michigan State an 80% and 96% chance to win each of those two games, respectively.
More on both games this week can be read below.
Oregon
There is only one coach in the Big Ten who can say he has won more basketball games than Tom Izzo. That's Oregon coach Dana Altman. He's had other stops at Marshall, Kansas State, and, most notably, Creighton, but Altman has 788 career Division I victories to Izzo's 753.
It's been a serious down year for the Ducks, though. Oregon only lost 10 games all season last year, and it's already matched that total with 13 games to go.
Altman hasn't had a losing season since his very first year at Creighton in 1994-95 (one year before Izzo became MSU's head coach), but that long streak is in danger of ending this season.
It's going to be a Quad 2 game for Michigan State, with the Ducks' NET rating being all the way down in the 100s nationally. Still, Oregon gave Michigan a decent fight on Saturday, actually leading by one at halftime. The Wolverines ended up winning by 10.
Maryland
Maryland enters the week with an identical record as the Ducks. The Terrapins will have another supremely challenging game ahead of their trip to East Lansing, as they will play at No. 11 Illinois on Wednesday.
The program is currently in a bit of a rebuild during Year 1 of the Buzz Williams era, who left Texas A&M. Williams has also had notable stints at Marquette and Virginia Tech.
Maryland just picked up its first conference win on Sunday, taking down Penn State at home, 96-73. Watch out for David Coit, as he had a 43-point performance in the Terrapins' victory there.
Michigan State has dominated this series recently, having won the last seven meetings against the Terrapins. The most notable win of the bunch was last season's thriller that ended with Tre Holloman's half-court buzzer-beater.
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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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