Spartans ranked in top 5 of Big Ten in latest preseason rankings

Michigan State basketball remains just outside of the top 20 in the latest preseason rankings from one of the game’s top analysts.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has released an updated batch of preseason rankings for the 2025-26 college basketball season, and the Spartans remain listed just outside the top 20. Rothstein has the Spartans at No. 21 in his updated version of the rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Among Big Ten teams, the Spartans rank No. 5 in Rothstein’s list but there is a notable drop off after the top three. He has Purdue (No. 1), Michigan (No. 5) and UCLA (No. 7) all in the top 10, and then next from the Big Ten is Oregon (No. 20) one spot before the Spartans.

Michigan State is the reigning Big Ten champs and went the furthest of any team from the league in the NCAA Tournament by reaching the Elite Eight this past season. However, the Spartans have lost a number of key pieces off that highly-successful team, including leading scorers Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins — so many like Rothstein anticipate a step back from the Spartans next season.

As I’ve said during most of this offseason, I feel like anywhere from No. 15 to No. 25 is about right for the Spartans in next year’s preseason poll. I would be quite surprised if they were any higher than No. 15 and shocked if they were unranked when the official preseason polls drop in a few months.

Click on the post below to see the complete updated rankings from Rothstein:

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