Wisconsin Badgers drop in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 rankings

Wisconsin picked up its fifth Quad-1 win on Sunday but took a hit after losing at Ohio State earlier in the week.

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) hits a three-point basket over Wisconsin forward Austin Rapp (22) during the second half of the game Sunday, February 22, 2026 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beat Iowa 84-71. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MADISON, Wis. - A Quad-1 victory wasn't enough for the University of Wisconsin to hang on to its top-25 ranking.

Although winning their third Quad-1 game in the last four outings on Sunday, the Badgers' listless 86-69 loss at Ohio State earlier in the week caused them to not being ranked in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Wisconsin was the first team in the receiving votes category, but the Badgers' 47 votes were well behind No.25 Vanderbilt's 147 votes. UW appeared on 14 of the 61 ballots, with two writers still listing the Badgers in their top 20.

Despite having no number next to its name, Wisconsin is still in strong shape for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) are 3-3 against teams currently ranked in the top-25 and 5-5 against the KenPom top 40. UW's recent successes have them ranked No.25 in the NCAA's Wins Above Bubble (WAB) rankings, No.29 in KenPom, and No.32 in the NET.

With four games remaining in the regular season, Wisconsin currently sits alone in sixth place and sit a game behind Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue for third place. The top four teams get a bye in the conference tournament.

UW holds tiebreakers over second-place Illinois and Michigan State, while Nebraska holds the tiebreaker over Wisconsin. The Badgers play at Purdue in the final game of the regular season on March 7.

Wisconsin is still mathematically alive for a share of the Big Ten regular season title and the No.1 seed in the conference tournament but would need the Wolverines to lose their final four games of the season.

The Badgers leave today for their final road trip of the season, playing at Oregon (10-17) Wednesday and at Washington (13-14) on Sunday.