There are some terrific college hoops rivalries going these days.
And one of the best of those – that between the Big Ten Conference’s Michigan and Michigan State – is set to resume on Saturday in East Lansing.
The Spartans hung onto their No. 4 slot in the updated Power 16 while the Wolverines returned (at No. 16) while taking a seven-game winning streak into their conference game at No. 14 Iowa Wednesday night.
It should be among the most compelling of matchups this weekend.
Rank (Last Week) | Record | Comment |
1. Arizona (1) | 18-0 | Trip to the Bay Area in week (Jan. 29 Stanford and Feb. 1 California) looking like toughest trek of Pac 12 season for Wildcats. |
2. Syracuse (2) | 18-0 | Must avoid looking ahead to Feb. 1 (home vs. Duke) with trips to Miami and Wake Forest on tap this week. |
3. Michigan St. (3) | 18-1 | Have held up pretty well without Adreian Payne (4-0). |
4. Florida (7) | 15-2 | The Gators try to stretch it to 10 in a row Thursday night in Tuscaloosa. |
5. Wichita State (5) | 19-0 | Wednesday night MVC rematch at Illinois didn’t prove to be a stumbling block. |
6. San Diego State (10) | 16-1 | Is anyone guarding better than Steve Fisher’s Aztecs have this season? |
7. Cincinnati (12) | 17-2 | The Bearcats take 10-game winning streak into Thursday game vs. Central Florida. |
| 8. Creighton (13) | 16-3 | There are stunning jump-shooting performances and then there is what Creighton turned in at Villanova last week. Wow . . . |
9. Pittsburgh (14) | 17-2 | Like Syracuse, the transition to ACC has been smoother than most assumed. |
10. Kansas (15) | 14-4 | The four defeats are by a combined margin of 17 points, three of those against teams ranked 5, 6 and 13 in these ratings. |
11. Oklahoma State (8) | 15-3 | Three losses by a combined 10 points – most recently by a deuce at Kansas. |
12. Wisconsin (4) | 16-2 | The Badgers lose two toughies and will attest to just how tough the Big Ten is, folks. |
13. Villanova (6) | 16-2 | I’m sure Jay Wright will have his club’s perimeter defense quite a bit sharper when it visits Omaha on Feb. 16. |
14. Iowa (ur) | 15-3 | The Hawkeyes are certainly playing as well as anyone in the toughest (Big Ten) conference right now. |
15. Massachusetts (NR) | 16-1 | Welcome aboard, fellas. Minutemen make Power 16 debut. |
16. Michigan (NR) | 13-4 | The Wolverines re-appear in the Power 16 and have managed to look like a Sweet 16 team of late even without Mitch McGary. |
THE NEXT 16 (alphabetical): California 14-4, Colorado 15-4, Connecticut 15-4, Duke 14-4, Gonzaga 16-3, Green Bay 15-3, Iowa State 14-3, Kansas State 14-5, Kentucky 14-4, Louisville 16-3, Memphis 13-4, Ohio State 15-4, Saint Louis 17-2, SMU 15-4, Texas 15-4 and Virginia 14-5.
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
