EAST LANSING, Mich— MSU head coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans continued their methodical ascent up the AP Poll on Monday as they were named as the No. 19 team in the country following an impressive pair of wins this past week.  

The Spartans are one of four ranked Big Ten teams, behind No. 1. Purdue and in front of No. 21 Ohio State and No. 222 Ohio State

Coming off of a second-place finish at the Battle 4 Atlantis preseason tournament with wins over Loyola-Chicago and No. 22 UConn, the Spartans were named to the Top-25 as the No. 22 team in the country on Nov. 29 and faced off against the Louisville Cardinals in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 1st. 

With impressive performances from junior point guard, Tyson Walker, who recorded ten assists to go with four steals, center Marcus Bingham and forward Malik Hall, MSU added its sixth win of the season, as well as its third home win of 2021. 

Bingham has nine points and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes of action; Hall chipped in with 15 points and five rebounds  in 25 minutes off the bench.

Going into this past Saturday’s matchup with Toledo, the Spartans were tasked with knocking off a tricky Rockets squad that won the MAC regular season title in 2020-21 and earned an NIT bid. 

MSU dominated the first half en route to a 40-15 lead, and despite being outscored 45-38 in the second half, the Spartans cruised to their seventh win over of the season behind 14 Max Christie points. 

This week, No. 19 Spartans are set to open up Big Ten conference play when they visit the undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers on Dec. 8. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m.

MSU will finish off the week by hosting Penn State on Saturday, Dec.11th at 2 p.m. before it takes a long break before playing Oakland at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on Dec. 21.