Wisconsin’s big week landed them back in the national rankings and helped guard Nick Boyd earn an award.
Following wins at then-No. 8 Illinois and at home against then-No. 10 Michigan State, the Badgers moved into the AP Top 25 at No. 24. It’s the first time they’ve been in the rankings since just before Thanksgiving when they came in at No. 23.
Wisconsin has won nine of its last 11 games to get to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in Big Ten play, the latter record leaving the club in a tie for fifth place with the Spartans.
A total of six Big Ten teams made the poll, with Michigan checking in at No. 1 for the first time since 2013. The Wolverines lone loss this year came to Wisconsin last month in Ann Arbor. Nebraska went down a couple spots to No. 9. Purdue moved up six spots to No. 7, while the Illini dropped to No. 10 and Michigan State fell to No. 15.
Meanwhile, Boyd’s stellar season continued last week and it earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors for a second time. The San Diego State transfer averaged 27 points and 4.5 assists per game in the wins over top-10 teams. He’s now averaging 20.6 points per game, leaving him in position to become the first Wisconsin player to average better than 20 points per game since Michael Finley in 1994-95.
The Badgers will look to continue their strong play when they head to Ohio State to face the Buckeyes on Tuesday night. Wisconsin took the first meeting by 10 points last month in Madison.
