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.
More on the Spartans
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…