The MSU men's basketball team had only one game since last week's polls came out, but the Spartans didn't get any respect after a 67-62 overtime victory against Indiana on Saturday.
Voters in The Associated Press Top 25 poll obviously weren't impressed with the Spartans' (13-8 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) road win, nor their three-game winning streak as MSU actually lost 20 votes in the poll.
The Spartans received only 11 votes, just one week after picking up 31. If the rankings based on votes continued past 25, the Spartans would be No. 39, just one spot behind Wisconsin, their opponent tonight.
"I think a road win at Wisconsin could do a lot for (our ranking), but we're not going to get all wrapped up in that," sophomore guard Chris Hill said.
Hill added the Spartans have been playing well with the "underdog" label, so he wouldn't mind keeping a number away from their name.
What if J. Rich were here?
Former Spartan Jason Richardson won his second-straight NBA slam dunk competition Saturday night.
Following Saturday's win, the team turned on ESPN to catch the highlights, including the contest-winning, between the legs, one-handed reverse jam, which scored a perfect 50 points.
"I taught him to do that," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said jokingly.
Richardson would be a senior on this year's Spartan squad had he not jetted to the NBA after his sophomore season.
Senior forward Aloysius Anagonye said he has nightmares thinking about it.
"I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'll be covered in sweat and I'll be like, 'J. Rich, J. Rich, J. Rich,'" he said. "It kills me to think what could be."
Bracketology
After winning their third straight game, the Spartans have climbed back into Bracketology, ESPN.com's version of the Field of 65.
Joe Lunardi, the brackets' creator, gave MSU a No. 10 seed in the South region. It pitted the Spartans against Arizona State (15-7) in the first round, and then a possible second-round matchup with either Kansas (17-5) or Stephen F. Austin (14-5).
Injury update
Freshman guard Maurice Ager had four stitches in his chin after Saturday's game and was dizzy all day Sunday. Izzo said Ager could barely watch practice, let alone participate.
Freshman center Paul Davis is expected to play today, though he is dealing with a nagging foot injury.
