The Big Ten/ACC Challenge hasn't been challenging at all this week for the ACC, which has already secured the event for the 13th time in 20 years. When Duke beat Indiana late Wednesday, the ACC took an 11-2 lead with just one game -- Notre Dame at Michigan State -- left to play. So the trophy, assuming there is a trophy, will reside in Greensboro once again.
But that doesn't take anything away Notre Dame-Michigan State.
It's a Thursday night showdown between two teams with realistic aspirations for the Final Four, between two of the nation's best coaches, between a pair of schools both ranked in the top five of the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). Michigan State is 5-1 and ranked third. Notre Dame is 6-0 and ranked fourth.
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Duke
| Marvin Bagley got 23 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's win at Indiana. The five-star freshman is averaging 22.3 points and 11.1 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per game. | -- | 9-2 |
2 |
Kansas
| The Jayhawks have won five of their six games by at least 30 points. Devonte' Graham is averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per contest. | -- | 8-2 |
3 |
Michigan St.
| Joshua Langford finished with a game-high 23 points in Sunday's win over North Carolina. The Spartans' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Duke. | -- | 9-2 |
4 |
Notre Dame
| The Irish beat Wichita State Wednesday despite making just four 3-pointers in the game. Bonzie Colson finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds. | -- | 6-5 |
5 |
Wichita St.
| Former JUCO All-American Samajae Haynes-Jones got 31 points, five rebounds and five assists in Tuesday's win over Savannah State. The Shockers' lone loss is a one-possession loss to Notre Dame. | -- | 8-3 |
6 |
Kentucky
| The Wildcats shots 66.7 percent from the field in Sunday's win over Illinois-Chicago. Kevin Knox finished with a career-high 25 points on 13 field goal attempts. | -- | 10-1 |
7 |
Villanova
| The Wildcats have won all seven games by at least eight points. Jalen Brunson is averaging 18.4 points and 4.3 assists in 30.3 minutes per contest. | -- | 8-4 |
8 |
Texas A&M
| D.J. Hogg scored a game-high 15 points in Sunday's victory over USC. The Aggies now own double-digit wins over USC, West Virginia, Penn State and Oklahoma State. | -- | 9-2 |
9 |
Florida
| The Gators squandered a 17-point lead in Sunday's loss to Duke. Florida only scored 10 points in the final nine minutes. | -- | 11-0 |
10 |
Miami
| Bruce Brown got 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists on Wednesday's win at Minnesota. Miami has a top-10 defensive-efficiency rating. | 1 | 4-7 |
11 |
N. Carolina
| The Tar Heels already have six top-100 KenPom victories. Luke Maye is averaging 20.1 points and 9.4 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. | 1 | 6-5 |
12 |
USC
| The Trojans shot just 28.2 percent from the field in Sunday's loss to Texas A&M. The loss snapped USC's 21-game non-league winning streak at home. | 2 | 7-4 |
13 |
Cincinnati
| Gary Clark is averaging a team-high 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds. The Bearcats have won 30 consecutive home games. | 1 | 8-1 |
14 |
Gonzaga
| Rui Hachimura is averaging 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game. The Zags' lone loss is a 2OT loss to Florida. | 1 | 7-3 |
15 |
Minnesota
| The Golden Gophers shot 31.3 percent from 3-point range in Wednesday's loss to Miami. Jordan Murphy is averaging a team-high 21.4 points and 12.5 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. | 2 | 6-5 |
16 |
Alabama
| Collin Sexton finished with 22 points in Wednesday's win over Louisiana Tech. The five-star freshman is averaging 24.7 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. | -- | 8-2 |
17 |
Virginia
| The Cavaliers have held four of their seven opponents to fewer than 50 points. They have the No. 1 defensive-efficiency rating in the nation, according to KenPom. | -- | 6-4 |
18 |
Arizona St.
| Tra Holder finished with a career-high 40 points in Friday's victory over Xavier. The Sun Devils now own victories over Xavier, Kansas State and San Diego State. | -- | 8-2 |
19 |
Xavier
| Kaiser Gates finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's win over Baylor. The Musketeers' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Arizona State. | -- | 8-3 |
20 |
Baylor
| Manu Lecomte has missed nine more shots than he's made in Baylor's past two games. The Bears' lone loss came at Xavier. | -- | 7-3 |
21 |
Creighton
| Marcus Foster is averaging a team-high 18.0 points through six games. The Bluejays' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Baylor. | -- | 7-4 |
22 |
TCU
| The Horned Frogs have won 12 consecutive games dating back to last season. Jaylen Fisher is averaging 10.3 points and 5.6 assists in 25.9 minutes per game. | -- | 6-4 |
23 |
West Virginia
| Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles combined for 55 points in Sunday's win over Missouri. The Mountaineers' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Texas A&M. | -- | 8-2 |
24 |
Texas Tech
| Jarrett Culver got 18 points off the bench in Saturday's win over Savannah State. The Red Raiders have won all six games by double-digits. | -- | 8-2 |
25 |
Nevada
| The Wolf Pack's 7-0 start is their best start since the 2006-07 season. NC State transfer Caleb Martin is averaging a team-high 19.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game. | -- | 8-3 |
26 |
Texas
| The Longhorns' two losses are OT losses to Duke and Gonzaga. Mohamed Bamba is averaging 10.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in 27.2 minutes per game. | -- | 9-2 |