After dropping three of their last four, Wisconsin found themselves unranked in the latest AP Top-25 Poll. The Badgers had been ranked No. 20 last week.
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Wisconsin started the season unranked, but clawed all the way up to the No. 11 spot after an 8-0 start. They've since gone 1-3, including 0-2 in conference play, and now are back on the outside looking in.
A lack of consistency has been the driving force to the Badgers' tumble. Once touted as a potential national player of the year, John Tonje has been largely ineffective since the 8-0 start. During the last four games, he's shot just 32% from the field and has failed to reach 20 or more points.
Max Klesmit and Steven Crowl have also been singled out by coaches as players who need to be playing better. Klesmit has been ice-cold this season, shooting 33% from the field, a far cry from his career 43% average. Crowl on the other hand has been largely absent in some games, including an infamous zero rebound game, which drew the ire of coach Greg Gard.
Wisconsin was probably not the a No. 11 team in the country, but the drop to unranked is certainly startling after the team looked so good early on. They'll need to get more from their veteran players if the team wants to climb back up into the top-25 as Greg Gard has said his freshman aren't ready to help the team yet.
The Badgers will face Detroit on Sunday before they begin the bulk of their conference schedule. They won't play another ranked team for at least a month, so this gives the team a great opportunity to win games and get back on track.