Michigan State nearly overcame their basketball kryptonite against Duke last week during the annual Champions Classic, but the Blue Devils eked out yet another win over the Spartans in a clash between No. 1 vs. No. 2.
And as expected, the loser of the heavyweight fight took a slight dip in the latest poll by the Associated Press. MSU inches just a couple spots down and remains in the top five.
MSU hoops slips to No. 4 in AP poll; Duke stays No. 1 https://t.co/z3kpMNY6LA via @detroitnews
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) November 20, 2017
Moving up one spot each in the new rankings behind top-ranked Duke are Arizona (No. 2) and Kansas (No. 3). The Jayhawks were also victorious on Tuesday in the Champions Classic, a 65-61 victory over No. 7 Kentucky. The Wildcats, meanwhile, dropped one spot to No. 8 after that defeat.
There was not much shuffling around elsewhere in the new top 25, as in the case often times early in the college basketball season. The one real thing that would stand out this week is the subtraction of No. 20 Northwestern, who drops out of this week’s poll after taking two losses last week. The biggest beneficiary from NU dropping out is Alabama, who checks in at No. 25 this week.
Michigan State bounced back from that loss on Tuesday against Duke with a 93-71 win on Sunday against Stony Brook at home. They now have a few days off to prepare for the Phil Knight Invitational out in Portland, Oregon this Thanksgiving weekend.
However, they may or may not be without the services of superstar Miles Bridges, who suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s win over Stony Brook and is listed as day-to-day.
https://detroitsportsnation.com/msu-news/amuller/look-michigan-state-don-special-uniforms-pk80-invitational-next-week/98406/