Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Indiana flies up, Michigan crashes down

6. Michigan State Spartans – 14-8 (6-5)

In the three games they played last week, Michigan State had no easy task. They started out on the road at Indiana and while they didn’t shoot the ball well from deep, were fine offensively. But their inability to slow down Trayce Jackson-Davis was their downfall, as the Spartans lost, 82-69.

Forward Joey Hauser did his best to keep up with the star Hoosier, going for 22 points and six rebounds on 6/12 shooting. Jaden Akins had 15 points, while A.J. Hoggard chipped in with 11. The defense did better at home against Iowa but the offense struggled in what ended up being a tight game down to the final minute. But the veteran Spartans were able to prevail, 63-61, thanks to a balanced effort. No one scored more than 12 points for the team but big man Mady Sissoko had his best game in a while, producing 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Michigan State had one more opportunity to beat Purdue after coming up short in the final seconds a couple of weeks ago. This one didn’t come down to the wire, as Zach Edey proved to be too much. They were down by 18 points at the half and ultimately fell, 77-61. Hoggard had 20 points and six assists, with Akins as the other double-digit scorer with 12.

The Spartans have just one game this week and it’s against Rutgers, with Big Ten Basketball position on the line. They’ll have to watch out for big man Clifford Omoruyi in this one since there’s a pattern of frontcourt players going off on them.