Michigan State has been struggling lately.
The latest loss for the Spartans (20-5 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) was the most lopsided the program has seen in nearly four calendar years. Wisconsin, unranked at the time, essentially shot MSU out of the gym last Friday night, hitting 15 threes in a 92-71 loss.
When the new AP Poll was released on Monday afternoon, Michigan State ended up dropping five spots from 10th in the country to No. 15. The Badgers ended up jumping up to 24th in the country after beating both MSU and then-No. 8 Illinois in the same week.
The Spartans have been ranked in every single AP Poll this season, starting the year 22nd in the preseason rankings. Michigan State had been ranked in the top 10 in eight of the last 10 weeks, though. Being 15th in the country is the lowest the team has been since the Nov. 17 poll.
MSU’s Week Ahead
UCLA
One of the best things a team that has had some recent struggles can get is a nice, little homestand. Michigan State is back in action on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET, Peacock) against UCLA (17-8, 9-5). The Bruins were within two at halftime against now-No. 1 Michigan, but got dominated during the final 20 minutes and ended up losing by 30…