NCAA Basketball: Kansas State, Providence on the rise on latest top 25 power ranking

18. Wisconsin (11-3)

These Badgers have certainly been one of the surprise teams in college basketball early this season. They certainly were not expected to be sitting here in the rankings after a hot start to conference play. The emergence of players like Steven Crowl and Connor Essegian has paved the way for this early success, though the Badgers have certainly had a few hiccups lately.

The week began with another close call for the Badgers, who hung on for a 63-60 win against rival Minnesota at home. Crowl had 17 points while Chucky Hepburn had 16 in the victory, a game in which they were heavily outrebounded by the Golden Gophers. Saturday’s action wasn’t just a close call, as Wisconsin fell 79-69 at Illinois for their first conference loss. Hepburn had 22 points and 7 assists while Crowl had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, with the Illini lighting it up from beyond the arc.

Wisconsin has played well this season and was due for a performance like this. With wins over USC, Marquette, Maryland, and Iowa, their successful play earlier in the year is going to set them up well for the postseason. However, they’re going to need to play better in the coming weeks against the Big Ten after a disappointing showing against a struggling Illinois squad. Significant challenges loom, especially with a road trip to Indiana next weekend after a midweek test against Michigan State.