College basketball rankings: Michigan, Michigan State head toward epic last game of regular season
The regular season is winding down and will end Sunday with an epic showdown between the Wolverines and Spartans
The final game on CBS before we get to the last week of conference tournaments will be played Sunday at the Crisler Center, where Michigan will host Michigan State. It'll be a showdown between in-state rivals that are both in the top eight of Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Duke remains No. 1 for the ninth straight day.
Michigan is No. 2. Michigan State is No. 8.
Sunday's tip is set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
Will it determine the Big Ten title? No. Impressively, the Wolverines have already locked that up thanks to a 17-1 record in the league with just two regular-season games remaining. Michigan State and Nebraska are tied for second in the conference standings, three games behind Michigan with 14-4 records in the league, and it doesn't take a mathematician to grasp that you cannot make up a three-game deficit in any regular-season standings with only two regular-season games remaining.
So, no, it won't be for a conference championship.
But it'll still be great!
And, as long as nobody gets injured between now and then, it should feature two of the top candidates for Big Ten Player of the Year -- namely Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg and Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr., the latter of whom got 21 points, nine assists, four rebounds and a steal in Sunday's 77-64 win at Indiana that extended the Hoosiers' losing streak to four games and sent them even further away from the bubble of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Michigan State moving from No. 10 to No. 8 in Monday's Top 25 And 1 because of Sunday's win at Indiana caused Iowa State and Illinois to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. Similarly, Purdue dropping from No. 14 to No. 16 in Monday's Top 25 And 1 because of Sunday's loss at Ohio State caused Virginia and Gonzaga to be advanced one spot each, no credit of their own, especially considering both are coming off of weekend losses -- Virginia's happening at Duke, Gonzaga's happening at Saint Mary's.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Isaiah Evans finished with 19 points and three assists in Saturday' 77-51 win over Virginia. The Blue Devils' next game is Monday at NC State. | -- | 35-3 |
| 2 |  | Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 84-70 win at Illinois. The Wolverines' next game is Thursday at Iowa. | -- | 35-3 |
| 3 |  | Brayden Burries finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 84-61 win over Kansas. The Wildcats' next game is Monday against Iowa State. | -- | 36-2 |
| 4 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 111-77 win over Arkansas. The Gators' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi State. | -- | 27-8 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 71-67 win over Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Marquette. | -- | 33-5 |
| 6 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 26 points and six assists in Saturday's 102-62 win over Colorado. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against Baylor. | -- | 30-7 |
| 7 |  | Pryce Sandfort finished with 32 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 82-67 win at USC. The Cornhuskers' next game is Tuesday at UCLA. | -- | 28-7 |
| 8 |  | Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 21 points and nine assists in Sunday's 77-64 win at Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Thursday against Rutgers. | 2 | 27-8 |
| 9 |  | Killyan Toure missed all seven shots he attempted in Saturday's 82-73 loss to Texas Tech. The Cyclones' next game is Monday at Arizona. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 10 |  | Tomislav Ivisic missed seven of the 10 shots he attempted in Friday's 84-70 loss to Michigan. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Oregon. | 1 | 28-8 |
| 11 |  | Latrell Wrightsell finished with 25 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 71-69 win at Alabama. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday at Georgia. | -- | 25-10 |
| 12 |  | Bryson Tiller missed five of the six shots he attempted in Saturday's 84-61 loss at Arizona. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Arizona State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 13 |  | Donovan Atwell finished with 18 points and one rebounds in Saturday's 82-73 win at Iowa State. The Red Raiders' next game is Tuesday against TCU. | -- | 23-11 |
| 14 |  | Malik Thomas missed all eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 77-51 loss at Duke. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday against Wake Forest. | 1 | 30-6 |
| 15 |  | Adam Miller missed eight of the 13 shots he attempted in Saturday's 70-59 loss at Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game will be March 8 in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | 1 | 31-4 |
| 16 |  | Braden Smith missed 12 of the 19 shots he attempted in Sunday's 82-74 loss at Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Wednesday at Northwestern. | 2 | 30-9 |
| 17 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 89-57 win over Villanova. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday against Georgetown. | -- | 30-7 |
| 18 |  | Henri Veesaar finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 89-82 win over Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against Clemson. | -- | 24-9 |
| 19 |  | Peter Suder finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Friday's 69-67 win at Western Michigan. The RedHawks' next game is Tuesday against Toledo. | -- | 32-2 |
| 20 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. missed 13 of the 19 shots he attempted in Saturday's 111-77 loss at Florida. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Texas. | -- | 28-9 |
| 21 |  | Mikey Lewis finished with 31 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 70-59 win over Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game will be March 8 in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 27-6 |
| 22 |  | Tyler Nickel missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 91-77 loss at Kentucky. The Commodores' next game is Tuesday at Ole Miss. | -- | 27-9 |
| 23 |  | Tre Donaldson finished with 15 points and three assists in Saturday's 76-54 win over Boston College. The Hurricane's next game is Wednesday at SMU. | -- | 26-9 |
| 24 |  | Nate Ament missed four of the five shots he attempted in Saturday's 71-69 loss to Alabama. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at South Carolina. | -- | 25-12 |
| 25 |  | Mihailo Boskovic missed all four shots he attempted in Saturday's 79-71 loss at West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday at Cincinnati. | -- | 23-12 |
| 26 |  | Mikel Brown Jr. missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Saturday's 80-75 loss at Clemson. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday against Syracuse. | -- | 24-11 |
