Wisconsin men's basketball: Badgers climb to No. 17 in AP poll

The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is No. 17 in the updated AP Poll as of Monday, December 19.

After being projected to finish No. 9 in the Big Ten, Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team have done what they seemingly always do, outperform national expectations. 

Last week, after a pair of Big Ten wins over Maryland and Iowa, the Badgers made their first appearance in the AP and Coaches Poll of the season. 

After pully away from Lehigh in the second half for a 22-point win, Wisconsin maintained its ranked status in the updated polls and rose five spots to No. 17 as voted on by the Associated Press. 

Checking in 📈📈📈📈📈 pic.twitter.com/M28M9hhqg8

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 19, 2022

Sitting with a 9-2 overall record, and a perfect 2-0 mark inside the Big Ten, the Badgers are one of four teams within the conference inside the top 25. You can see where each Big Ten Conference team sits below:

• Purdue - No. 1 in the AP Poll
• Illinois - No. 16 in the AP Poll (+2)
• Wisconsin - No. 17 in the AP Poll (+5)
• Indiana - No. 18 in the AP Poll (-4)

In terms of the rest of the Big Ten, Maryland, Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State each received at least a vote, with Maryland representing the No. 26 ranked team. 

Here are how the rankings are split out by conference:

• SEC: six ranked teams
• Big Ten: four ranked teams
• Big 12: four ranked teams
• ACC: four ranked teams
• Pac 12: three ranked teams
• Big East: two ranked teams
• AAC: one ranked team (Houston)
• WCC: one ranked team (Gonzaga)

In terms of first-place votes, Purdue continues to hold steady atop the polls. The Boilermakers are 11-0 to begin he year and 7-footer Zach Edey is averaging 23.5 points and 18.3 rebounds per game in his past four games. 

Behind them, Connecticut, Houston, and Kansas round out the top four. The Badgers played the Jayhawks tight in a overtime loss during the Battle 4 Atlantis. Wisconsin currently holds a 1-1 record against ranked teams, with the loss to Kansas, but a road win over No. 24 Marquette. 

UW also made an appearance in Andy Katz's Power 36 put out by the NCAA. The Badgers are ranked as the No. 21, rising three spots for Week 6. 

Wisconsin will be back in action on Friday against Grambling State. The game is one of two remaining non-conference games at the Kohl Center before transitioning back to Big Ten play in 2023. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.

You can see the entire rankings below. 

Associates Press Top 25

1. Purdue (11-0)
2. UCONN (12-0)
3. Houston (11-1)
4. Kansas (10-1)
5. Arizona (10-1)
6. Virginia (8-1)
7. Texas (9-1)
8. Tennesse (9-2)
9. Alabama (9-2)
10. Arkansas (10-1)
11. Gonzaga (9-3)
12. Baylor (7-2)
13. UCLA (10-2)
14. Duke (10-2)
15. Mississippi State (11-0)
16. Illinois (8-3)
17. Wisconsin (9-2)
18. Indiana (8-3)
19. Kentucky (7-3)
20. TCU (9-1)
21. Virginia Tech (11-1)
22. Miami (11-1)
23. Auburn (9-2)
24. Marquette (9-3)
25. Arizona State (11-1)

Top Plays from the win over Lehigh

• Crowl: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
• Davis: 14 pts (4-for-6 3FG), 5 reb
• Essegian: 13 points, 6 rebounds
• Wahl: 13 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl pic.twitter.com/og7Bwr9aN2

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 16, 2022

Related links:

• Wisconsin storms back against Lehigh for a 22-point win
• Game notes and top plays from Wisconsin's win over Lehigh
• Wisconsin football: Recruiting and transfer portal news

You can keep up to date on everything at All Badgers by liking + following our Facebook page and Twitter account:

Facebook - @AllBadgers
Twitter - @All_Badgers

You can also follow Site Publisher Matt Belz at @savedbythebelz on Twitter.