The Badgers are the top-ranked team in the Big Ten after their major win.
The Wisconsin Badgers are on the rise for the second straight week, jumping up five spots once again, this time to No. 11 in the AP Top 25.
It’s the highest they’ve been ranked this season, tying where they were back in Week 5 of the season after their 8-0 start to the year.
It was another victory-filled week for the Badgers, building up a recent four-game win streak with their 94-84 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday on the road.
It was a tough back-and-forth battle for the Badgers in the first half, as Purdue controlled a close game for most of the period, but Wisconsin exploded for a 58-point second half on 72 percent from the field, thanks to 22 points from John Tonje in the half alone.
Wisconsin’s victory over Purdue was their eighth Quad 1 victory of the season, bumping them up to No. 9 in the KenPom rankings, which is atop the Big Ten.
Now, the Badgers stand at 20-5 and 10-4 in conference play, which is fourth in the Big Ten behind Michigan (12-2), Michigan State (11-3), and Purdue (11-4).
Wisconsin was one of five teams to jump at least five spots this week, joining Michigan, Missouri, Clemson, and Maryland.
They are now the top Big Ten team in the AP Top 25 as well, with Michigan (No. 12), Purdue (No. 13), and Michigan (No. 14) all coming back-to-back behind them.
Overall, the Badgers are one of five Big Ten teams in the Top 25, with Maryland being the fifth coming in at No. 20.
Purdue dropped six spots after back-to-back losses to Michigan and Wisconsin. Michigan jumped eight spots after wins over Purdue and Ohio State. Michigan State fell three spots after a loss to Indiana and a road win over Illinois. And Maryland jumped after wins over Nebraska and Iowa.
The Badgers have a big game on Tuesday, as they’ll host the Fighting Illini at the Kohl Center, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. Then comes another home matchup over the weekend with Wisconsin hosting the Oregon Ducks to cap a tough stretch of games. Tip-off for that one is set for noon on Saturday.