Winning the Big Ten Tournament certainly has its perks. The trophy and banners are always nice to have, but their ranking/seeding heading into the Big Dance could be much more useful. Despite winning it all last year, Michigan only received a 7-seed in the tourney, this year should be different. The AP Poll released today is a prime example that coach John Beilein and Michigan will not be overlooked this year.
Michigan climbed into the Top-10 after making easy work of the Big Ten Tournament, knocking off two Top-10 opponents in Michigan State and Purdue. They left no questions about who is playing the best basketball heading into the tournament. As Beilein solidifies himself as an unbelievable coach come March, Tom Izzo and his Spartans have some doubters.
The previously ranked No. 2 Spartans slipped to No. 4 after losing to Michigan for the second time this year. The talented Spartans were simply outmatched against a Michigan team that is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. However, as talented as the Spartans are, expectations will remain high during the tournament.
The rest of the brand new AP Poll looks like this.
- Virginia
- Villanova
- Xavier
- Michigan State
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Michigan
- Cincinnati
- Kansas
- Purdue
- Wichita State
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas Tech
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Ohio State
- West Virginia
- Clemson
- St. Mary’s
- Houston
- Nevada
- Florida
- Miami (Fla.)
- Rhode Island
The only two other Big Ten teams in the AP Poll also dropped a few spots after the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue fell from eight to 10, while Ohio State dropped from 13 to 17 after falling to Penn State for the third time this year, this time in the quarterfinals.
With other conference tournaments to begin this week, expect some more falling and rising before the next poll release, and more importantly Selection Sunday this upcoming weekend. Michigan will have to try and hang on to the momentum they created in the tournament, as they navigate an extended time off thanks to an earlier conference tournament.
With no clear dominant team in college basketball, the field is wide open. The parody throughout the league sets up what should be a very entertaining and exciting March.
