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CBS Sports Graphic

One night after Michigan State won at the buzzer on a 3-pointer Wednesday, Michigan did the same thing Thursday thanks to Nimari Burnett's shot that lifted Dusty May's program to an 84-82 victory over Rutgers. The byproduct of those two developments is that the Spartans and Wolverines are now both 14-3 in the Big Ten with three regular-season games remaining, and the conference race really does seem destined to be settled, one way or another, when the two in-state rivals close against each other on March 9 inside the Breslin Center on CBS.

"I'm extremely happy for Nimari," May said after his Wolverines improved to 8-1 in their past nine games. "He deserves to make that play. … His day-to-day work, preparation, consistency, in my opinioni, is the reason you can make shots like that — [and] we needed it."

Michigan, which seemed kinda flat from the jump, trailed by as many as 13 points against Rutgers and appeared on its way to a Quadrant 2 loss. But, as they've often done this season, the Wolverines instead rallied to secure yet another close victory. Specifically, it was their 11th conference win by four-or-fewer points, which is more than any team has ever had in the same season.

The Wolverines remain No. 10 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 52nd straight day. Michigan will next play Illinois at home on Sunday, and then Maryland at home next Wednesday, before visiting Michigan State on the final day of the regular season. Nobody else in the Big Ten is within a game of the Wolverines and Spartans in the league standings, which suggests that this might be a two-team race at this point.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers
Rk
Teams
  
Chg
Rcrd
1 Auburn Johni Broome finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 106-76 win over Ole Miss. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Kentucky. -- 30-5
2 Duke Kon Knueppel finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 97-60 win at Miami. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Florida State. -- 33-3
3 Houston Milos Uzan finished with 22 points and two steals in Monday's 69-61 win at Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Cincinnati. -- 32-4
4 Alabama Chris Youngblood finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 111-73 win over Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Tennessee. -- 27-8
5 Tennessee Zakai Zeigler finished with 17 points and three assists in Tuesday's 65-59 win at LSU. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Alabama. -- 29-7
6 Mich. St. Jase Richardson finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 58-55 win at Maryland. The Spartans' next game is Sunday against Wisconsin. -- 29-6
7 Florida Thomas Haugh was 3-of-11 from the field in Tuesday's 88-83 loss at Georgia. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. -- 32-4
8 St. John's RJ Luis Jr. finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 76-70 win at Butler. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday against Seton Hall. -- 31-5
9 Wisconsin John Blackwell finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 88-62 win over Washington. The Badgers' next game is Sunday at Michigan State. -- 27-10
10 Michigan Vladislav Goldin finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 84-82 win over Rutgers. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Illinois. -- 27-9
11 Texas A&M Andersson Garcia was 1-of-5 from the field in Wednesday's 86-84 loss to Vanderbitl. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Florida. -- 23-11
12 Iowa St. Tamin Lipsey was 3-of-11 from the field in Tuesday's 74-68 loss at Oklahoma State. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Arizona. -- 25-10
13 Texas Tech Christian Anderson was 2 of 11 from the field in Monday's 69-61 loss to Houston. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at Kansas. -- 27-8
14 Missouri Anthony Robinson finished with 14 points and eight assists in Tuesday's 101-72 win over South Carolina. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. -- 22-12
15 Kentucky Otega Oweh finished with 28 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 83-82 win at Oklahoma. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Auburn. -- 24-11
16 Purdue Braden Smith was 2-of-8 from the field with six turnovers in Sunday's 73-58 loss at Indiana. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against UCLA. -- 24-11
17 Louisville Chucky Hepburn finished with 15 points and six assists in Tuesday's 71-66 win at Virginia Tech. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Pitt. -- 27-8
18 Arizona Caleb Love finished with 23 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 83-66 win over Utah. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Iowa State. -- 24-12
19 Marquette Kam Jones finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 82-52 win over Providence. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. -- 23-11
20 Miss. St. Claudell Harris Jr. was 1 of 8 from the field in Tuesday's 111-73 loss at Alabama. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against LSU. -- 21-13
21 Creighton Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 75-65 win over DePaul. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at Xavier. -- 25-11
22 Clemson Ian Schieffelin finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 83-68 win over Notre Dame. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Virginia. -- 27-7
23 Maryland Derik Queen was 2-of-11 from the field in Wednesday's 58-55 loss to Michigan State. The Terrapins' next game is Saturday at Penn State. -- 27-8
24 Memphis Dain Dainja finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 84-72 win over Rice. The Tigers' next game is Sunday at UAB. -- 29-6
25 Saint Mary's Paulius Murauskas finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's 58-55 win at Loyola Marymount. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against Oregon State. -- 29-6
26 Oregon Nate Bittle finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 77-73 overtime win at Wisconsin. The Ducks' next game is Saturday against USC. -- 25-10