College basketball rankings: Michigan falls to rival Michigan State, but day not all bad for Wolverines

I’m going to call Friday a good day for Michigan even if the Wolverines ultimately ended things by losing 75-62 at home to Michigan State.

Rough game.

Still, I’m going to call Friday a good day for Michigan because before the Wolverines lost a game that cost them sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings, their coach, Dusty May ended all speculation that he could be a one-and-done with the school by agreeing to a contract extension that effectively removed him from consideration to be the next coach at his alma mater, Indiana. Every day May and Michigan didn’t get this done was going to be another day fans of both schools wondered, on message boards and other places, whether the 48 year-old who graduated high school just 18 miles from IU’s campus was set to bounce at the end of the season. 

But late Friday afternoon, a little more than two hours before tip-off, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced that he and May have reached an agreement that will force Indiana to look elsewhere for Mike Woodson’s replacement.

“I am excited to announce that Dusty and I have agreed to a new multi-year contract,” Manuel said. “His commitment to this University and the success of the men’s basketball program has far exceeded our expectations and makes us all excited for what the future holds. I look forward to Dusty, Anna, and his family remaining a part of the fabric of this University and community for many years to come.”

Almost regardless of what happened next, I was going to call Friday a good day for Michigan. And I still am. But what happened next wasn’t great because what happened next is that Michigan was outscored 41-24 by its in-state rival in the second half to lose the high-profile matchup by 13. So, instead of being 21-5 overall, 13-2 in the Big Ten and alone atop the league standings, the Wolverines are now 20-6 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten — one game back of Michigan State in the win-column of the league standings as opposed to two games ahead of both Michigan State and Wisconsin in the loss-column of the league standings, which is where a win would’ve had Michigan with just five regular-season games remaining.

Can Michigan still win the Big Ten? Yes, of course. But, by definition, it’ll be tougher now than it would’ve been had the Wolverines simply held on to the eight-point lead they once possessed Friday at home.

Michigan State’s win lifted the Spartans to No. 9 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, which caused Texas A&M and St. John’s to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. Michigan remains No. 13 despite the loss simply because I do not believe anybody I have below the Wolverines deserves to be ahead of them right now.

Top 25 And 1 rankings