Michigan St

After missing last week's Consensus Ranking due to extensive travel, this week's list grows to include 7 new teams, the highest of which is #44 Belmont.

 

At the top of the ranking, Kentucky takes over #1, edging Syracuse who has slumped in the Sagarin & KenPom ratings (due to close wins).

 

ACC - Duke (#4 Coaches Poll, #3 RPI), UNC (#7, 5)

Big 12 - Missouri (#3, 9), Kansas (#5, 6)

Big Ten - Michigan St (#6, 2), Ohio St (#9, 7)

None - This year, no one deserves it

None - On principal, no league should get two #1 seeds

With hopes of not only remaining a factor in the ACC race but also notching their first win at #5 Duke since 1995, NC State was more than motivated for Thursday night's battle. And they played that way out of the gates, scoring the first eight points of the game and leading by as many as 19 points in the first half. But while the Wolfpack would continue to control play in the early portion of the second half, the foul trouble that developed for Mark Gottfried's team in the first half began to take its toll.

Thursday night provides a big matchup in the Big Ten, as #8 Michigan State (20-5, 9-3) looks to remain tied for first place with a win over #17 Wisconsin (19-6, 8-4). Their first meeting, a 63-60 Michigan State win in overtime on January 3rd, ended with Ryan Evans' game-tying three being ruled to have come after time had expired, so the rematch in East Lansing will likely be just as competitive.

With first place on the line in Columbus the expectation was that #11 Michigan State and #3 Ohio State would play a tight, physical affair. And that's exactly what it was, with the visitors from East Lansing seeming to be the more comfortable of the two teams in the first half. Michigan State shot 46.9% from the field but the reason for their 35-25 lead at the half was their defense, as they limited Ohio State to 33.3% and forced eight turnovers.

NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE (19-5, 8-3 Big Ten) AT NO. 3 OHIO STATE (21-3, 9-2 Big Ten)

 

Time: 6 p.m.

 

Saturday is the day that many college basketball fans have been waiting for, with a number of important matchups on the slate. One of those games is #4 Missouri (22-2, 9-2) hosting #6 Baylor (21-3, 8-3) with the Bears looking to keep alive their fleeting hopes of winning the league title. Scott Drew's team is 0-3 in games against the two teams now ahead of them in the standings, most recently being whipped by Kansas in Waco.

Quite a bit was made of the team meeting called by UConn forward Alex Oriakhi on Friday, and how it may have sparked a revival of the reigning national champions. But maybe that should have been another red flag, given the first couple of paragraphs in the Hartford Courant recapping the Huskies' 69-46 win over Seton Hall.

Tuesday's night matchup between #9 Michigan State and Illinois wasn't a pretty affair, as neither team could establish much of a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Whether it was due to good defense or just an inability to make shots on a consistent basis, neither the Spartans nor the Fighting Illini had much succes on that end of the floor. But when it's all said and done what matters is the result, which was a 42-41 Illinois victory as Brandon Paul made two free throws with 45 seconds remaining.

One of the season's bigger mysteries in the Big Ten has been figuring out which Illinois (15-6, 4-4) team would show up on any given night. A big reason for that is their inconsistent nature on the offensive end of the floor, as the Illini go through bouts with poor shot selection that's gotten them in trouble at times. Despite being at home they can ill-afford to go through such issues against #10 Michigan State (17-4, 6-2), who looks every bit the Big Ten title contender few expected them to be back in October.