The Wisconsin Badgers stayed at No. 24 in the latest AP Poll after a 2-0 week, as there wasn’t much movement at the bottom of the Top 25 after the first week of action.
Wisconsin kicked things off with
a 96-64 win over the Campbell Fighting Camels on Monday, pulling away on a 29-2 run over the final part of the second half after a fairly tight game through the first 30 minutes.
Then, they dominated in a 97-72 win over Northern Illinois on Friday, getting off to a hot start and never trailing in the blowout win.
There were several different standouts in both victories, as John Blackwell had 31 points in the opener before Nick Boyd had a career-high 25 against Northern Illinois.
In the two games, the Badgers showed they still have much to work on, but were dominant in the wins, displaying what the potential of this team could be.
There wasn’t much movement this week in the bottom of the AP Top 25. No team dropped out of the rankings, while the Kansas Jayhawks fell six spots to No. 25 after a loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, who subsequently jumped the Badgers, going up seven spots to No. 25.
As a result, the Badgers stayed put, remaining as the sixth Big Ten team in the rankings. However, there was movement amongst the other squads in the conference. Purdue dropped from No. 1 to No. 2, with Houston taking the top spot this week. Michigan moved up one spot to No. 6. Illinois moved up three spots to No. 14, while UCLA dropped three spots to No. 15. Then, Michigan State moved up five spots to No. 22 after a three-point win over Arkansas, which fell seven spots to No. 21.
Wisconsin will have one opportunity to move up in the rankings this week, taking on SIUE on Tuesday in its lone game of the week. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
