Ohio State cruised to a 79-62 victory over Michigan State on Sunday that improved the Buckeyes to 14-4 and allowed them to remain No. 7 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Unsurprisingly, Chris Holtmann is doing an incredible job once again.
But the story here is Michigan State.
Kentucky's wildly disappointing season has gobbled up much of the national attention to date, and for good reason. But did you realize, technically, the Spartans have been even more disappointing than John Calipari's Wildcats? Consider the preseason and current KenPom rankings as proof. Kentucky started 12th at KenPom and is now 52nd. That's bad. But Michigan State started 11th and is now 62nd, which means Tom Izzo's Spartans started higher than UK and are now lower than UK. So that qualifies as worse.
"There's not a better late-season coach in the country than Tom," Holtmann said following Sunday's victory over Michigan State while more or less noting that anybody counting out the Spartans in late January/early February is a fool.
And Holtmann is right, of course.
But, that said, things definitely aren't looking good. Michigan State is now 8-6 overall, 2-6 in the Big Ten. The Spartans are on a three-game losing streak. They're down to 95th in the NET. They're 1-5 in Quadrant 1 opportunities, just 2-6 inside of the first two quadrants. And they're projected to be underdogs in all but one of the nine games currently remaining on their schedule. So, believe it or not, the following sentence is true: Michigan State finishing with a losing record is now more likely than Michigan State participating in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
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Monday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gonzaga's perfect record includes double-digit victories over Iowa, Virginia and Kansas. The Zags have won their eight West Coast Conference games by an average of 25.4 points. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Baylor's perfect record is highlighted by victories over Illinois, Texas Tech and Kansas. The Bears have won 14 of their 16 games by double-digits. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Villanova is 3-0 with two wins over Seton Hall since returning from a COVID-19 pause. The Wildcats will take a nine-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at St. John's. | -- | 18-16 |
| 4 |  | Michigan is 8-1 in the first two quadrants with double-digit wins over Minnesota, Wisconsin and Purdue. The Wolverines' lone loss came at Minnesota. | -- | 8-24 |
| 5 |  | Houston is 6-1 in the first two quadrants with a double-digit victory over Texas Tech. The Cougars will take an eight-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at East Carolina. | -- | 32-5 |
| 6 |  | Texas was missing three of its top eight players, and coach Shaka Smart, in Tuesday's loss to Oklahoma because of COVID-19 issues. The Longhorns are 6-3 in the first two quadrants with all three losses coming in the first quadrant. | -- | 21-13 |
| 7 |  | Ohio State is 6-1 in its past seven games with victories over Wisconsin and Illinois. The Buckeyes will take a three-game winning streak into Thursday's game at Iowa. | -- | 22-14 |
| 8 |  | Illinois beat Iowa on Friday to improve to 8-5 inside the first two quadrants. Four of the Illini's five losses are considered Quadrant 1 defeats. | -- | 29-9 |
| 9 |  | Iowa's loss at Illinois on Friday dropped the Hawkeyes to 6-4 in the first two quadrants. They'll take a two-game losing streak into Tuesday's game with Michigan State. | -- | 19-15 |
| 10 |  | Oklahoma's five-game winning streak includes victories over Texas, Alabama and Kansas. The Sooners have four Quadrant 1 wins and zero losses outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 20-12 |
| 11 |  | Alabama's 10-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide is 9-3 in the first two quadrants with one additional loss coming to Western Kentucky. | -- | 25-12 |
| 12 |  | West Virginia's two-game winning streak was snapped Saturday by Florida. The Mountaineers are 6-5 in the first two quadrants with all five losses qualifying as Quadrant 1 defeats. | -- | 9-23 |
| 13 |  | Texas Tech used a 12-0 run in the final minute Saturday to win at LSU. The Red Raiders are 4-2 in their past six games with the only losses in that stretch coming to Baylor and West Virginia. | -- | 23-11 |
| 14 |  | Missouri avoided what would've been its first Quadrant 3 loss by edging TCU in overtime on Saturday. The Tigers are 6-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Illinois and Tennessee. | -- | 8-24 |
| 15 |  | Tennessee improved to 5-3 in Quadrant 1 opportunities via Saturday's blowout of Kansas. The Vols will take a two-game winning streak into Tuesday's game at Ole Miss. | -- | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Virginia Tech improved to 6-3 in the first two quadrants via Saturday's double-digit win over Virginia. The Hokies will take a two-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at Pitt. | -- | 19-15 |
| 17 |  | Virginia's seven-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers are 6-3 in the first two quadrants with zero additional losses. | -- | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Creighton's 3-1 record in Quadrant 1 opportunities is highlighted by wins over Seton Hall and UConn. The Bluejays will take a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with Georgetown. | -- | 25-10 |
| 19 |  | Wisconsin is 3-3 in its past six games after Saturday's loss at Penn State. It was the fourth time this season the Badgers have lost as a favorite. | -- | 22-14 |
| 20 |  | Florida State's five-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Georgia Tech. The Seminoles are 6-2 in the first two quadrants with one additional loss to UCF. | -- | 17-16 |
| 21 |  | Purdue is 5-1 in its past six games with the lone loss in that stretch coming to Michigan. The Boilermakers have four Quadrant 1 wins and just one loss outside of the first two quadrants. | -- | 34-5 |
| 22 |  | UCLA is alone atop the Pac-12 standings with a 9-1 league record. The Bruins have two Quadrant 1 wins and zero losses outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 16-17 |
| 23 |  | Kansas is 1-4 in its past five games after Saturday's loss at Tennessee. The Jayhawks are 6-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses qualifying as Quadrant 1 defeats. | -- | 23-11 |
| 24 |  | Florida's four-game winning streak features Quadrant 1 wins over West Virginia and Tennessee. The Gators are 2-2 in the first quadrant, 3-2 in the second quadrant. | -- | 24-12 |
| 25 |  | Louisville's 7-3 record in the first two quadrants includes victories over Duke, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Kentucky. Three of the Cardinals' four losses have come inside the first quadrant. | -- | 8-24 |
| 26 |  | North Carolina is 6-1 in its past seven games with victories over Syracuse, NC State and Pitt. The Tar Heels will take a three-game winning streak into Tuesday's game at Clemson. | -- | 29-8 |
