Big Ten champion Badgers rise to No. 18 in AP Top 25 poll
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team just keeps on moving up.
More Badgers coverage
Winners of eight straight games and nine of its last 10, Wisconsin rose to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 poll, released Monday afternoon.
The Badgers, who earned a spot in the poll for the first time last week at No. 24, beat Northwestern 63-48 on Wednesday and took down Indiana 60-56 on Saturday for a share of the Big Ten title.
Wisconsin, Maryland and Michigan State all tied for first place with conference records of 14-6. The Badgers owned tiebreakers over both programs to claim the top seed in the Big Ten tournament.
As the No. 1 seed, the Badgers received a free pass to the conference quarterfinals and will play the winner of No. 8 Rutgers and No. 9 Michigan at 12 p.m. Friday.
AP top 25 poll (Week 19) — released March 9
| RANK | TEAM | PV RANK |
| 1 | Kansas | 1 |
| 2 | Gonzaga | 2 |
| 3 | Dayton | 3 |
| 4 | Florida State | 7 |
| 5 | Baylor | 4 |
| 6 | San Diego State | 5 |
| 7 | Creighton | 11 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 6 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 16 |
| 10 | Duke | 12 |
| 11 | Villanova | 14 |
| 12 | Maryland | 9 |
| 13 | Oregon | 13 |
| 14 | BYU | 15 |
| 15 | Louisville | 10 |
| 16 | Seton Hall | 8 |
| 17 | Virginia | 22 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 24 |
| 19 | Ohio State | 19 |
| 20 | Auburn | 17 |
| 21 | Illinois | 23 |
| t-22 | Houston | 21 |
| t-22 | West Virginia | N/A |
| 24 | Butler | N/A |
| 25 | Iowa | 18 |
