Verdict is in: Spartans make debut on Top 25 polls

The Supreme Court Justices of the Associated Press and men's college basketball coaches finally rendered a decision concerning the case of Michigan State's place, or lack thereof, in the polls.

The Spartans (13-4, 6-1 Big Ten) presented their evidence, which consisted of wins against Iowa (15-4, 4-2), Purdue (17-4, 5-2), Wisconsin (10-9, 3-4) and Illinois (13-7, 5-2). The Spartans further pleaded their case, stating their first-place standing in the Big Ten.

After Michigan State's 71-59 win over Penn State (9-7, 2-4) last Saturday, the buzz around The Breslin Center was the fact the Spartans were unranked in the polls.

Nittany Lion coach Jerry Dunn said he thought Michigan State should be ranked. Spartans coach Tom Izzo gave the standard "We're not where we want to be right now" speech, but it was easy to see how he really felt.

Michigan State found itself ranked 22nd in the latest AP Top 25 poll and 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

As the season progresses, keep an eye out for the Spartans. They have rematches with all the teams they have beaten.

Disgruntled Wisconsin forward Sam Okey will transfer to Iowa his parents said last weekend.

Okey, a former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, may choose to play with the Hawkeyes in January of 1999 and play for one semester, or wait until the fall of 1999, when he can play a full season.

The change will also present an opportunity for Okey to play in a more up-tempo offense instead of the slow, defensive-minded offense of Wisconsin.

Besides being named a Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Okey will probably be remembered most in Wisconsin for his off-court problems. In the summer of 1996, Okey was charged and fined for the use of a fake ID. This season, he was suspended for two games, reportedly for marijuana use.

The Big Ten picture may be a lot clearer after this week as the top five teams -- Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois -- all play key games this week.

Indiana travels to Michigan State tomorrow. The Hoosiers are coming off a 69-59 win against Wisconsin. Andrae Patterson lit up the Badgers for 19 second-half points and finished with a season-high 23 points.

But the Hoosiers will be facing a hostile environment at Michigan State. The fans cheer and taunt loudly. And Michigan State has knocked off some big-time competition.

Pick of the week: Michigan State 67, Indiana 60

"We don't have any choices. We have what we have for this year. Our team isn't going to change, our foot speed sure as hell isn't going to change, our guys off the bench aren't going to change. There are no miracle walk-on people out there. We've got what we've got."

-- Kevin O'Neill, Northwestern men's basketball coach describing the situation behind the Wildcats' 1-6 conference record.