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Wisconsin Badgers outside of Top 25 in latest college basketball ranking from The Athletic

The Athletic released a Top 25 for the upcoming college basketball season, and the Wisconsin Badgers didn't make the cut.

Lorin Cox

Mar 14, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard in the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Mar 14, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard in the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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The Wisconsin Badgers retooled their lineup this offseason with some key transfer portal additions.

It apparently wasn't enough to earn much respect from national college basketball writers.

CJ Moore of The Athletic put out his Top 25 ranking for the 2025-26 season, and Greg Gard's team didn't make the cut.

Wisconsin was listed under "others under consideration" on the outside looking in.

UW finished last season ranked 16th in the polls, so the school would drop at least 10 spots to miss the Top 25 to start next season.

Wisconsin is losing John Tonje to the NBA Draft but retained John Blackwell and brought in a few other starting-caliber guards in the portal to maintain strong depth.

It's fair to question whether this new group can reach the heights of last season, but dropping out of the Top 25 feels like a drastic fall.

Gard still has one roster spot to fill and is hoping to add more size to his front court in the process, but the Badgers may still have a lot to prove in the regular season once again.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the host of the Locked on Bears podcast and has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2016. He is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus and has written for NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today's Bears Wire. You can follow him on Twitter @CoxSports1.