Michigan State had the best week of any Big Ten team, beating Purdue at home Tuesday and rival Michigan on the road Friday. Add in last week’s road smackdown against Illinois, and the Spartans have won three consecutive games over teams in the top 25 in NET Ranking by an average margin of 12 points. That is a strong stretch.

After falling in the national rankings each of the last three weeks, the Michigan State men’s basketball team is back in the top 10. The Spartans shot up six spots to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25, which was released on Monday.

Shorthanded on the road against a team fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid, Michigan struggled to score all night at Nebraska — and still won. The Wolverines found a way, shutting down every Cornhusker except one and doing enough down the stretch on Monday to move into a tie for first place in the Big Ten.