Senior guard Denzel Valentine continued his torrid start with 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists and Michigan State put itself in position to take over the No. 1 ranking by clobbering Binghamton 76-33 on Saturday afternoon at Breslin Center.

The No. 3 Spartans (9-0), who defeated Louisville on Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, will likely gain the top spot after losses by No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Maryland this week. The last time Michigan State held the No. 1 spot was two seasons ago, when it topped the polls for three weeks.

Senior shooting guard Bryn Forbes scored 14 points, junior point guard Eron Harris contributed 11 points and five assists and sophomore forward Marvin Clark Jr. added nine points and six rebounds for the Spartans.

Valentine, who was averaging 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists, had 13 points and seven rebounds before halftime.

Sophomore forward James McFadden led the Bearcats (2-5) with 10 points.

Michigan State scored the first nine points, including an alley-oop off the opening tap, and never looked back. It led 41-12 at halftime while holding Binghamton to 13.3 percent shooting (4 for 30).