MSU Women Crack AP Top 25 After Taking Down Oregon
NEW YORK (AP) — MSU Ladies Hoops climb in to the AP Top 25 with huge win over Lady Ducks.
The Spartans enter the poll at No. 23 on Monday, a day after upsetting the then-third ranked Ducks 88-82. Michigan State (8-1) only had three votes from the 31-member national media panel last week. It's the first ranking for Michigan State in two years.
The win was the Spartans first over a top-three opponent since April 3, 2005, when they defeated No. 3 Tennessee, 68-64 in the Final Four. It's also the team's first regular-season win over a top-three opponent since Dec. 2, 2004, when they won at No. 3 Notre Dame, 82-73 in overtime.
The Ducks fell to seventh after suffering their first loss of the season.
There wasn't much other movement in the poll with many teams starting their exam breaks. UConn and Notre Dame remain No. 1 and 2. Baylor, Louisville and Mississippi State round out the first five teams in the poll.
Drake fell out of the Top 25 after losing at South Dakota State.
ROUGH WEEK FOR DUCKS: The NCAA announced that Oregon violated rules related to the both basketball teams and the track and field program and put the school on probation for two years.
The decision issued Wednesday said Graves failed to "monitor and promote an atmosphere of compliance in his program." He must serve a two-game suspension this season.
"I regret that some members of my staff made errors of judgment, and I have taken actions to ensure that it doesn't happen again," Graves said in a statement when the university received notice. "I am steadfastly committed to building a winning program at the UO that operates in full compliance with NCAA bylaws and is committed to the highest levels of integrity."
LOOK BACK: While there aren't many games featuring two ranked opponents this week, there were a few excellent contests between Top 25 teams this past week. Mississippi State edged Marquette, Tennessee topped Texas and Louisville beat Kentucky. The defeats didn't really hurt the losing teams as Texas stayed 12th in the poll. Kentucky and Marquette just flipped places at 18 and 19.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Third-ranked Baylor visits No. 11 Stanford on Saturday. This will be a test for the Lady Bears, who have already beaten Arizona State and South Carolina.
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