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Due to its dramatic comeback victory against Purdue, Michigan State has regained the nation’s number one ranking in the Coaches Poll. BUT for the first time all season the AP disagrees with the coaches on who deserves to be ranked number one in the nation.
AP Poll
- No 2. Michigan State
- No 6. Purdue
- No. 8 Ohio State
- No. 22 Michigan
- Receiving Votes: Nebraska (15)
Coaches Poll
- No 1. Michigan State
- No 7. Purdue
- No 9. Ohio State
- No 22. Michigan
- Receiving votes: Nebraska (18)
Reaction
-Does Michigan State deserve the top spot?
I’ll have to agree with the coaches on this one. I think the Associated Press has to be out of their mind to not have the Spartans ranked at number one, following the loss Virginia had this week.
Yes, an argument can be made for UVA to be ranked at number one. They still have fewer losses than the Spartans, they play in a tougher conference, blah blah blah. The fact of the matter is Michigan State is playing like the best team in the country right now.
The first thing to consider is that the Spartans do not have one bad loss on the season. Their three losses came against Duke, Michigan, and Ohio State; all teams that are currently ranked inside the top 22. Virginia Tech is a team that cannot come onto your home floor and beat you if you want to be considered the best team in the country. The coaches don’t even have the Cavs ranked as their second team, placing them at number three behind Villanova.
-Purdue failing to impress
While it was a very close loss against a very good team, I am not surprised that Purdue dropped to seven in the coaches poll, and six in the associated press. This past week was an opportunity to prove themselves and they came up short both times, losing to Ohio State in the middle of the week. While I think this is a very talented team with a number of unbelievable players, they have failed to come through in big games.
In addition, the Boilermaker’s two big non conference wins against Louisville and Arizona have become less and less impressive as the season continued. Louisville has turned into an absolutely garbage team, while Arizona continues to fall in the ranks. They have lost against the team’s that were gunning for them in the conference standings, and I think it will be nearly impossible for them to grab a number one seed come march.
-Ohio State is here to stay
Ohio State proved that they are a team to be feared. They beat the Boilermakers on their home floor, maintaining their standing atop the conference. I think this is a team that is even better than their ranking, due to their struggles out of the gate that now seem like they took place in a different lifetime. This is a team to mark down for a far run in march.
-Why is Michigan still ranked?
I am honestly surprised Michigan barely dropped in the rankings following the defeat to a dreadful Northwestern team. I think this team can rise to the occasion in a big game, but they are lacking some serious talent when compared to the other teams in the top 25.
-Nebraska gets some votes!
Nebraksa is starting to gain some love, garnering some top 25 votes. They have now rattled off five straight conference wins. They even beat Michigan by 20 points the last time they played, so they have proven they are not a team to be taken lightly going forward.