A new updated preseason poll from CBS Sports has the Spartans just outside of the top five for next year's college basketball season.
CBS Sports' Gary Parrish has released an updated batch of preseason rankings, with Michigan State landing in the top 10 but not in the top five. The Spartans came in at No. 7 in Parrish's updated poll. Michigan State fell behind only the following teams: Florida (No. 1), Duke (No. 2), Illinois (No. 3), UConn (No. 4), Texas (No. 5) and Arizona (No. 6).
Here's what Parrish had to say about the Spartans:
"This ranking is based on the Spartans returning five of the top eight scorers -- specifically Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Kur Teng, Jordan Scott and Cam Ward -- from a team that finished 27-8 and advanced to the Sweet
16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke and four-star prospects Ethan Taylor, Carlos Medlock Jr., Julius Avent and Jasiah Jervis."
Michigan State has widely been considered a preseason top 10 team for next year, with some having them in their top five too. So this ranking from Parrish is right in line with the common theory on Michigan State. It'll be interesting to see where exactly Michigan State lands when the preseason polls come out later this fall, but we at least can expect them to be in the top 10 nationally going into the season.
Click on the post below to see the complete updated preseason poll from Parrish:
COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS: The 2026-27 @CBSSports Preseason Top 25 And 1 has been updated to reflect recent developments.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) August 31, 2026
Version 25
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. UConn
5. Texashttps://t.co/YLQ68XnBme
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: MSU basketball listed outside top five in latest CBS Sports preseason poll
