Wisconsin Badgers tumble in Associated Press Top 25 rankings

After starting the season 4-0, Wisconsin Badgers' first loss of the season to No.9 BYU caused their Associated Press Top 25 ranking to drop

Nov 21, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard watches play against the BYU Cougars during the second half at Delta Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

MADISON, Wis. – Opposing head coaches who faced Wisconsin this season have said the Badgers have the talent, depth, and experience to be a championship-caliber team by the time postseason play starts.

But after failing its first major test this season, it's evident the Badgers have a lot of work in front of them.

Wisconsin saw its four-game win streak to begin the season end in a thud against No.9 BYU on Friday afternoon, which caused the Badgers to drop out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season when the poll was released Monday.

🏀@ArizonaMBB jumps to No. 2 behind @BoilerBall in AP Top 25. @AlabamaMBB moves into the top 10 and@KUHoops falls out of rankings.https://t.co/3ZjpSEfMwf

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 24, 2025

The Badgers received only 45 votes, a drop of 135, and are the top team in the "receiving votes" category. This drop comes after BYU never trailed in its 98-70 victory at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. A rematch of a 2025 NCAA Tournament second round game where the Cougars prevailed at the buzzer, BYU never trailed and led by as many as 32 points in the second half. Wisconsin's point total was a season low, as well its field goal percentage (37.7), three-point percentage (24.1), and points per possession (.972).

The 28-point margin of defeat tied for the worst loss of head coach Greg Gard's 11 season.

"We're going to learn a lot from this," Gard said on Friday. "What we have to fix, there's technical things, but how we respond from a mental standpoint and grow. We have to get better. That's why you play these type of games against these types of teams. We have a lot more coming in terms of high-level games. We need to take all the lessons from this, good and bad, and there were a lot of bad ones, and learn from them and grow."

With a road win over No.8 Alabama and a neutral-site victory over No.15 Texas Tech, Purdue continues to be ranked number on the in poll. Michigan (7), Michigan State (11), Illinois (13), and UCLA (18) remained ranked. Off to a 5-0 start, Indiana joins the poll for the first time this season and is ranked No.25.

Wisconsin is currently in San Diego preparing for the Rady Children's Invitational, where the Badgers will play Providence on Thanksgiving (4:30 p.m/FS1). The Friars (4-2) picked up their first victory over a power-conference opponent when it knocked off Penn State, 77-65, at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Connecticut on Saturday.

The Badgers will play either TCU or No.10 Florida on Friday. The Horned Frogs suffered a narrow loss to the Wolverines in Fort Worth 10 days ago while the Gators have won four straight - including victories over in-state rivals Florida State and Miami - since starting the season with a 93-87 loss to Arizona in Las Vegas.

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