East Lansing – Michigan State was one of the few top-10 teams to get out of last week unscathed.
So, too, was Villanova, which had a win over No. 12 Gonzaga last week, enough to offset a sluggish win over LaSalle and leapfrog Michigan State into the No. 1 ranking the nation.
Villanova (10-0) went from No. 4 to No. 1 in both the Associated Press poll and the coaches’ polls this week as Michigan State (9-1) went from No. 3 to No. 2 in both.
The Spartans defeated Rutgers and Southern Utah last week, not enough to stay ahead of the unbeaten Wildcats, but it wasn’t something Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was worrying about on Monday.