Last week, Wisconsin was the No. 24 team in the country, and then decided to show up without any energy or passion against Ohio State. They followed that up with an impressive quad-1 win over Iowa, a top-30 NET team. With all the other chaos that happened during the week, it felt like plenty to keep the Badgers in the top-25. However, the voters didn't agree and dropped them.
The Badgers are now the top vote-getter outside the top 25 with 47 votes to their name, but are currently on the outside looking in. It's a joke that Wisconsin is not in there, and here's why.
1. No team has three better wins on their resume
There are other teams with impressive wins, but Wisconsin boasts wins against No. 3 Michigan on the road, No. 10 Illinois on the road, and No. 13 Michigan State at home. That's an impressive resume. They also have no bad losses. Their worst loss (USC) is still a team inside the top-50 in the NET. Losing to Ohio State is not a bad loss; that's a bubble team. Beating Iowa is a good win; that's a seven or eight seed.
2. Vanderbilt, Louisville, and Saint Louis should not be in, ahead of Wisconsin
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Sure, it's easy to understand why Miami (OH) is hanging in the top-25 even though they've played zero quality teams. They haven't lost; they are rocking a perfect season. Good for them, leave them in the top-25. However, Vanderbilt, Louisville, and Saint Louis all deserve to be behind Wisconsin.
Vanderbilt lost TWICE this week and has lost three of their last five games. What are we doing with their inclusion?
Louisville lost to SMU earlier this week; that loss is WAY worse than Wisconsin's to Ohio State. Both were road games, so you can't even chalk that up as a difference.
Saint Louis has a good-looking record, but they only have two quad-1 wins and four quad-2 wins. Wisconsin has five and five and is outpacing the Bilkens completely.
The AP Top 25 is a joke normally, but even more so this week. Hopefully, this gives Wisconsin the chip on its shoulder they need for the West Coast trip.