With the news yesterday that the Associated Press did not vote the Wisconsin men's basketball team into its preseason Top 25 poll, we now have a pretty good picture nationally of how pundits are viewing Bo Ryan's squad this season.
Some guys get it and some don't. A composite look at numerous rankings across the land puts Wisconsin as a fringe Top 25 team, projecting to a mythical 6 or 7-seed down the line for the tournament. I think the Badgers can do better, but will they?
Here's a sampling ...
- No. 18 according to The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy
- No. 23 according to CBS Sports' Gary Parrish
- No. 24 in preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll
- Not ranked in preseason AP Top 25 poll
- Not ranked by ESPN's Andy Katz
- Not ranked by Fox Sports's Jeff Goodman
- Not ranked by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook
In general, writers in the midwest probably know enough by now to give Wisconsin its due, but that gets diluted in the polls by many national folks who are still lagging behind. Consider the following examples. Seth Davis, of CBS and Sports Illustrated fame, did not rank Wisconsin on his ballot according to his Twitter feed. Not a surprise, since he's a talking head for a major national network. Then you have Paul Klee, who writes for The News-Gazette and IlliniHQ.com. Klee is very familiar with UW's program and gave Bo some deserved respect by ranking the Badgers No. 18.
If there are other reputable sites/people that you feel are worth adding to this list, update us in the comments.