Michigan State breaks into the Top 10 in both Coaches Poll and AP Top 25

Michigan State moved up four spots in both major college basketball polls on Monday coming off home wins over Penn State and Illinois last week to break into the Top 10 for the first time this season at No. 8 overall.  

Auburn is the No. 1 team in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and AP Top 25. Other Top 10 teams include Duke, Iowa State, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Houston, Kentucky and Marquette.

Michigan State is the only team in the current Top 10 that began the season unranked.

The Spartans are the highest ranked Big Ten team in either poll coming off an 80-78 win on Sunday against Illinois, which currently sits at No. 17 in both polls.

Including Michigan State and Illinois, six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the Top 25. Those teams include Purdue, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Michigan State and Oregon are the only Big Ten team in the Top 25 without a single player ranked among the Top 15 in league scoring leaders. Jaden Akins, the leading scorer for the Spartans, is No. 25 among Big Ten players in scoring average at 13.9 points per game.

Purdue made the biggest jump of any Big Ten team in the AP Top 25 poll moving from 17 up to 11 after a road win at Oregon. The Boilermakers are ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Oregon is ranked No. 15 in both polls after suffering a home loss to Purdue. Ranked No. 17 in each poll Illinois moved up in the rankings despite its loss at Michigan State on the strength of its dominant win over Indiana prior to playing the Spartans.

 Wisconsin made a monster jump in the USA Today Coaches Poll going from unranked to No. 19 on the heels of a dominant road win at Southern Cal days after beating Ohio State at home. The Badgers have not lost during the month of January, having won five conference games with road wins at Rutgers and USC. The Badgers are ranked No. 24 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

Michigan is ranked No. 20 in both polls after splitting a pair of games against Minnesota and Northwestern. After losing on the road to Minnesota midweek, the Wolverines rebounded with a hard-fought home win over Northwestern on Sunday.

Maryland and UCLA both received votes in the Coaches Poll. Maryland also received a vote in the AP Poll.

Michigan State currently sits at No. 17 in the NET Rankings, which is the primary tool by which teams are evaluated by the NCAA Tournament Selection committee. The Spartans are tied with Purdue for the second most wins against Quad 1 teams. Oregon leads the conference with seven Quad 1 wins.

Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Illinois are the only teams in the Big Ten without a loss against a Quad 2 or lower opponent. Michigan, which is ranked ahead of the Spartans in the NET at No. 12, has two fewer Quad 1 wins than the Spartans and three losses to Quad 2 teams.

Illinois and Purdue are the only Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 10 in NET rankings. The Fighting Illini check in at No. 8 and The Boilermakers sit at No. 10.

Michigan State is one of seven Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 25 in the NET rankings, along with Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Maryland. UCLA, Penn State, Ohio State, and Nebraska are ranked in the NET Top 50. Northwestern is just outside the Top 50 at 51.

With their win over Illinois on Sunday, the Spartans improved their NCAA Tournament resume. According to BracketMatrix.com, which averages the seed projection of each of each bracketologist, Michigan State would be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament if the field were selected today along with Oregon and Illinois.

Michigan State plays just one game this week, traveling to New York City for a Saturday game at Madison Square Garden against Rutgers.