Michigan State has allowed each of its past three opponents to shoot at least 50% from the field. The result is a win over Oakland (in a game in which the Grizzlies scored 91 points) that was followed by consecutive losses to Northwestern and Wisconsin. So things are not going well for Tom Izzo's program.
Will MSU snap the losing streak Monday night?
Maybe.
But doing so will require Michigan State to win a road game at Minnesota, which is 8-1 with victories over Saint Louis and Iowa despite the fact that the Golden Gophers were picked 11th in the preseason Big Ten poll. In other words, Richard Pitino's team is one of college basketball's best early surprises. So this should not be an easy task for the Spartans, who currently rank 61st in adjusted defensive efficiency. FYI: The last time Michigan State finished outside of the top 40 in adjusted defensive efficiency was 2006.
Keep an eye on Marcus Carr.
Yes, Iowa's Luka Garza remains the leading candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year. Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu is also off to a strong start. But Carr has undeniably put himself into the conversation by averaging 24.6 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 39.3% from the 3-point line in 36.1 minutes per game. The 6-foot-2 guard ranks first in the Big Ten in assists per game and second in points per game. He's been terrific.
Minnesota is No. 15 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Michigan State is No. 19. They are two of the nine Big Ten schools in the top 21 — with the others being No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 13 Illinois, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 16 Iowa, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 18 Ohio State, and No. 21 Michigan.
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Monday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Corey Kispert made nine 3-pointers and finished with 32 points in Saturday's 98-75 victory over Virginia. Gonzaga's perfect record also includes wins over Kansas, West Virginia and Iowa. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 15 points off the bench in Monday's 99-42 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Bears have won five of their six games by at least 30 points. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Christian Braun made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Tuesday's 79-65 victory over West Virginia. The Jayhawks' lone loss in a neutral-court loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | Victor Bailey finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 80-60 victory over South Carolina Upstate. The Vols' perfect record also includes a win over Colorado. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Collin Gillespie made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 85-68 victory at Marquette. The Wildcats' lone loss is an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. | -- | 18-16 |
| 6 |  | The Mountaineers finished with 11 turnovers and just 10 assists in Tuesday's 79-65 loss at Kansas. West Virginia's only other loss is a single-digit loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 9-23 |
| 7 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 63-54 victory at UCF. The Cougars' perfect record also includes a double-digit win over Texas Tech. | -- | 32-5 |
| 8 |  | Greg Brown finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday's 77-74 victory over Oklahoma State. The Longhorns' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Villanova. | -- | 21-13 |
| 9 |  | Marcus Santos-Silva finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 69-67 victory at Oklahoma. The Red Raiders' two losses are to Kansas and Houston. | -- | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | D'Mitik Trice made four 3-pointers and finished with 29 points in Friday's 85-76 victory at Michigan State. The Badgers' lone loss is a final-second loss at Marquette. | -- | 22-14 |
| 11 |  | Jeremiah Tilmon got a game-winning 3-point play in the final seconds and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 54-53 victory over Bradley. The Tigers' perfect record also includes a win over Illinois. | -- | 8-24 |
| 12 |  | Antwann Jones finished with 13 points off the bench in Wednesday's 66-61 victory over Xavier. The Bluejays' two losses are single-digit losses to Kansas and Marquette. | -- | 25-10 |
| 13 |  | Ayo Dosunmu made four 3-pointers and finished with 30 points in Saturday's 69-60 victory over Indiana. All three of Illinois' losses are to ranked teams. | -- | 29-9 |
| 14 |  | The Scarlet Knights only grabbed four offensive rebounds in Wednesday's 80-68 loss at Ohio State. Rutgers' resume features wins over Illinois, Maryland and Syracuse. | -- | 15-17 |
| 15 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 30 points and eight assists in Friday's 102-95 overtime victory over Iowa. Minnesota's lone loss is at Illinois. | -- | 19-15 |
| 16 |  | The Hawkeyes missed 20 of the 30 3-pointers they attempted in Friday's 102-95 overtime loss at Minnesota. Iowa's resume includes two losses plus zero wins over teams currently ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 19-15 |
| 17 |  | Miller Kopp finished with 23 points and three steals in Saturday's 71-70 victory over Ohio State. The Wildcats' four-game winning streak also includes wins over Michigan State and Indiana. | -- | 22-12 |
| 18 |  | The Buckeyes missed 16 of the 20 3-pointers they attempted in Saturday's 71-70 loss at Northwestern. Ohio State's only other loss was a shorthanded loss at Purdue. | -- | 22-14 |
| 19 |  | The Spartans allowed Wisconsin to shoot 51.9% from the field in Friday's 85-76 loss to the Badgers. Wisconsin is the third straight team to shoot at least 50 percent from the field against Michigan State. | -- | 20-15 |
| 20 |  | Matthew Hurt finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 75-65 victory at Notre Dame. The Blue Devils' two losses are both to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 27-9 |
| 21 |  | Franz Wagner finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 80-69 victory at Nebraska. Six of Michigan's seven wins have come by double-digits. | -- | 8-24 |
| 22 |  | Chris Duarte finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 80-41 victory over Portland. Oregon's lone loss is a single-digit loss to Missouri. | -- | 24-12 |
| 23 |  | Moses Moody finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 85-72 victory over Abilene Christian. The Razorbacks have won all of their games by double-digits. | -- | 16-17 |
| 24 |  | McKinley Wright finished with 21 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 74-64 victory over Grand Canyon. The Buffaloes' lone loss is a single-digit loss at Tennessee. | -- | 26-11 |
| 25 |  | The Musketeers missed 24 of the 32 3-pointers they attempted in Wednesday's 65-61 loss at Creighton. Xavier's resume features wins over Oklahoma, Marquette and Cincinnati. | -- | 16-18 |
| 26 |  | Carlik Jones finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 62-59 victory over Kentucky. Louisville's lone loss is a shorthanded loss at Wisconsin. | -- | 8-24 |
