Wisconsin basketball (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten) rose to No. 17 in the latest edition of the USA TODAY Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
The team jumped two spots following a 1-1 week that included a convincing 83-55 victory over Nebraska and a narrow road loss to UCLA. The team’s vote total increased from 194 to 214 in the process
Greg Gard’s group is now the third-highest-ranked Big Ten team in the coaches poll behind only Michigan State (No. 7) and Purdue (No. 10). UW surpassed Oregon (No. 18) and Illinois (No. 20). Michigan and Maryland were placed in the ‘receiving votes’ section of the poll.
Auburn remains atop the latest coaches poll top 25 after improving to 18-1. The Tigers are followed by Duke (17-2), Iowa State (17-2), Alabama (17-3) and Houston (16-3). St. John’s (17-3) made the greatest jump up to No. 14, while Ole Miss and Michigan both dropped six spots following down weeks.
Here is the full coaches poll top 25:
| Rank | School | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | 18-1 | 775 (31) |
| 2 | Duke | 17-2 | 741 |
| 3 | Iowa State | 17-2 | 689 |
| 4 | Alabama | 17-3 | 676 |
| 5 | Houston | 16-3 | 635 |
| 6 | Florida | 18-2 | 634 |
| 7 | Michigan State | 17-2 | 583 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 17-3 | 564 |
| 9 | Marquette | 17-3 | 536 |
| 10 | Purdue | 16-5 | 476 |
| 11 | Kansas | 14-5 | 429 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 14-5 | 399 |
| 13 | Mississippi State | 16-4 | 324 |
| 14 | St. John’s | 17-3 | 318 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 15-5 | 310 |
| 16 | Memphis | 16-4 | 242 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 16-4 | 214 |
| 18 | Oregon | 16-4 | 201 |
| 19 | Texas Tech | 15-4 | 169 |
| 20 | Illinois | 14-6 | 166 |
| 21 | Missouri | 14-6 | 163 |
| 22 | Louisville | 15-5 | 162 |
| 23 | Ole Miss | 15-5 | 104 |
| 24 | UConn | 14-6 | 100 |
| 25 | Clemson | 17-4 | 96 |
Wisconsin’s complementary basketball has urged voters to alter their positioning in national rankings. The Badgers now sit at No. 14 in KenPom and No. 22 in ESPN BPI with a tough test road against Maryland coming up on Wednesday.
