Undefeated and scorching hot, the Spartans dominate opponents with assists and wins, yet AP voters inexplicably place them outside the top 10.
The Spartans are so hot right now.
Hopefully you read that in your best Will Ferrell voice from Zoolander. Even if you didn’t, it’s still the truth. Michigan State is scorching to start the 2025–26 campaign. Winners of their first five games—with two of those wins coming against SEC teams ranked ahead of MSU at the time—the Spartans are doing everything you want to see from a top-10 program.
Michigan State’s aggressive, physical style has been overwhelming opponents, and their suddenly blistering three-point shooting has turned close games into blowouts. When the shots fall, the scoreboard flips quickly, and right now, the Spartans are lighting it up.
The upperclassmen have stepped into the spotlight this season. Jaxon Kohler leads the team with 15 points per game, but he’s far from the only one making noise. Coen Carr continues to put on an acrobatics clinic nightly. Trey Furt and Kur Teng provide steady scoring from the two-spot, while freshmen Cam Ward and Jordan Scott give real production off the bench.
But the scoring isn’t the story. The setup is.
Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has become the nation’s premier playmaker. He leads all of Division I—350+ teams—with 10.4 assists per game. That’s nearly two full assists more than the next closest player, Purdue’s Braden Smith (8.8 apg). Tom Izzo has said it repeatedly, and the season so far has proved it: Michigan State will go as far as Fears takes them. He’s the oil in the engine, and right now that oil is running rich.
The result? A perfect 5–0 start and two ranked wins. That sounds like a top-10 résumé… right?
Apparently not.
The newest AP Poll dropped yesterday, and while Michigan State climbed six spots, the Spartans landed at No. 11—just outside the top 10.
AP Top 10
- Purdue (46) – 6–0, 2 ranked wins
- Arizona (11) – 5–0, 3 ranked wins
- Houston (4) – 5–0, 1 ranked win
- Duke – 7–0, 1 ranked win
- UConn – 5–1, 1 ranked win / Loss to No. 2 Arizona
- Louisville – 5–0, 1 ranked win
- Michigan – 4–0, 0 ranked wins
- Alabama – 3–1, 2 ranked wins / Loss to No. 1 Purdue
- BYU – 4–1, 1 ranked win / Loss to No. 5 UConn
- Florida – 4–1, Loss to No. 2 Arizona
Then comes Michigan State: 5–0, two ranked wins, and a far stronger résumé than several teams ahead of them.
So how does a team with one fewer win and two fewer ranked wins than MSU sit four spots higher? How do two teams with a combined one ranked win and two losses outrank an undefeated team with real résumé wins? These are the mysteries that only the AP committee can explain.
Of course, rankings—especially in November—mean very little. They exist mostly to spark conversation and draw eyes to TV matchups. Out of 350+ Division I teams, the “Top 25” label signals significance, even if the committee is still guessing at this point.
My personal theory: Michigan State is being held back because the committee had no idea what to do with them in the preseason. They undersold MSU early, and now the Spartans are having to work twice as hard to climb out of the hole. Meanwhile, a team like Michigan—with one ranked opponent on their entire non-conference slate—gets to coast in the top 10 because of a flashy transfer who, by the way, isn’t even playing as well as Jaxon Kohler.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter in November—unless you’re into bragging rights. But Michigan State absolutely deserves top-10 recognition, and they’ll get another chance to prove it this week in Florida as they open the Fort Myers Classic against East Carolina today, followed by a heavyweight showdown with North Carolina on Thursday.
A couple wins this week, and the AP voters will have no excuse left. Michigan State belongs in the top 10—certainly ahead of the wanna-be Wolverines.