Top 15 showdown set between Michigan, MSU after latest AP Poll rankings

There weren’t too many drastic changes in this week’s AP Poll for college basketball, but it does confirm the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans will both be top 15 teams when they square off Sunday in East Lansing (1:30 p.m., CBS)

Despite a blowout performance over UMass Lowell last week, the Wolverines moved down one spot to No. 12. The Spartans remained at No. 14 after blowing out Western Michigan.

The Wolverines do not play until Sunday, while the Spartans have a home game against Illinois Thursday night. This is a prime opportunity for Juwan Howard and company to lay the foundation for what could be a good run in the Big Ten. A loss in East Lansing wouldn’t be deadly, but a win would be oh so sweet considering it would be Howard’s first win against a rival as the head coach.

The No. 1 team in the country for the second week in a row is Gonzaga, followed by Duke, Kansas, Oregon, Ohio State, Baylor, Louisville, Auburn, Memphis and Villanova.

Full Big Ten rankings:

No. 5 — Ohio State

No. 12 — Michigan

No. 14 — Michigan State

No. 15 — Maryland

No. 21 — Penn State

No. 23 — Iowa

Purdue also received 12 votes, while Indiana received five votes.

For the full top 25, click here.