Projected college basketball rankings after Michigan State upset by JMU

Less than 12 hours into the 2023-24 college basketball season, and we have a monster upset with the No. 4-ranked Michigan State Spartans going down at home in their season opener.

With one of the favorites in the Sun Belt, the James Madison Dukes, traveling to East Lansing on Monday night, Tom Izzo's Spartans knew they were in for a dogfight early as JMU jumped out to a 25-12 lead at one point in the first half.

Michigan State, on the back of veteran guard Tyson Walker (35 points on the night), fought back and actually retook the lead. But the Dukes kept clawing back into it and ultimately forced overtime. it was then a Raekwon Horton 3-pointer to put JMU up by four points with eight seconds remaining that ultimately sealed the Spartans fate with the upset loss and 0-1 start to the season.

And now, the college basketball rankings in the AP Top 25 are going to get a major shake-up right away.

Projected college basketball rankings after Michigan State upset by James Madison

1. Kansas Jayhawks
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Purdue Boilermakers
4. Marquette Golden Eagles
5. UConn Huskies
6. Houston Cougars
7. Creighton Bluejays
8. Tennessee Volunteers
9. Florida Atlantic Owls
10. Gonzaga Bulldogs
11. Arizona Wildcats
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. Arkansas Razorbacks
14. Texas A&M Aggies
15. Kentucky Wildcats
16. San Diego State Aztecs
17. Texas Longhorns
18. North Carolina Tar Heels
19. Baylor Bears
20. Michigan State Spartans
21. USC Trojans
22. Villanova Wildcats
23. Saint Mary's Gaels
24. Alabama Crimson Tide
25. Illinois Fighting Illini

This is a monster win for the James Madison program, a team that upset in-state Virginia last season as well. However, this is the type of mid-major rising power that can always create some chaos. And at the same time, this is an upset of monumental caliber for the Dukes as they had just one win over a Top 10 team in program history previously, which came against Cal all the way back in 1992.

For the Spartans, they entered the season as one of the national championship favorites in college basketball. This upset loss is going to take some of the shine off of that preseason perception. However, Izzo should have this talented, experienced team ready to compete at the highest level by season's end and will be able to climb back up the rankings if they live up to their potential.

Michigan State's next game will be just three days after this loss, hosting Southern Indiana on Thursday, Nov. 9. The Dukes will travel to Kent State on Thursday for their next game.