Wisconsin has a case for being in the AP Top 25 poll, but after the rankings were released this week, they were left out. The Badgers aren't even a top vote-getter, only getting 31 votes. Ironically, Pitt has the most votes of those teams outside of the Top 25, with 91 votes. A Pitt team that Wisconsin beat earlier this season, 81-75.
Wisconsin rose into the top 25 in the NET after the big win at Iowa but has since fallen a couple of spots as other teams jumped them on Sunday. They are now ranked 27th in the NET and 26th in the KenPom rankings. Two major things cost them the most for this week's rankings.
Wisconsin on the outside looking in for the AP Top 25. They are now receiving 31 votes.
— Badger of Honor (@BadgerOfHonorFS) January 6, 2025
Wisconsin did not play enough times in the last week.
The biggest flaw to Wisconsin jumping into the rankings is that they only played once over the last week. While that one game was impressive, it came against a team that is ranked 58th and 56th in the NET and KenPom, respectively. This wasn't going to be enough to get them in unless a bunch of the bottom 25 lost and fell out.
Other teams had more impressive wins to catapult into the rankings.
The other big problem was that other teams showcased themselves strongly to jump into the rankings. Utah State won multiple games and one over a ranked team in San Diego State. Michigan also found its way in with a couple of important conference wins. Michigan being ranked does help Wisconsin as they continue proving they were a "good" loss.
Wisconsin may have had three losses, but now all three of them are against the AP Top 25 teams in Marquette, Michigan, and Illinois. This Wisconsin team is better than they are getting credit for, and a win against Rutgers tonight and Minnesota later this week will go a long way toward next week's rankings.