Badgers stay put at No. 21 in latest AP top-25 poll

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team stayed in place at No. 21 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, released Monday.

The Badgers played two games since they were ranked 21st last week, beating Nebraska 61-48 on Wednesday and losing 67-59 to third-ranked Michigan on Sunday.

Wisconsin has five contests to go before the postseason begins. The Badgers are back on the floor Thursday to host No. 11 Iowa at 6 p.m.

Elsewhere, Gonzaga and Baylor lead an unchanged quartet atop the poll.

Coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs received 59 of 64 first-place votes, while Scott Drew’s Bears claimed the other five. Those two teams have been 1-2 in all 13 polls this season and also headlined Saturday’s initial rankings for the committee that will select the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament.

Next came three straight Big Ten teams, starting with No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State in their same positions from last week, followed by Illinois in its return to the top 5 for the second time this season.

Houston, Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma and Villanova rounded out the top 10.

No. 14 Creighton had the week’s biggest climb, jumping five spots after a weekend win over Villanova. No. 20 Missouri took the biggest tumble, falling 10 spots after two losses in Southeastern Conference play last week.

The Jayhawks fell out of last week’s poll for the first time in 12 years, but their absence turned out to be a short one. Kansas was one of three new additions to this week’s poll, joined by No. 24 Arkansas — marking the Razorbacks’ first appearance since January 2018 — and No. 25 San Diego State.

Oklahoma State, Purdue and Rutgers fell out of the rankings.

AP TOP 25 POLL — WEEK 13 (released Feb. 15)