MADISON, Wis. – The heart attack Badgers aren’t going to sneak up on anyone else this season.

Receiving no votes in the preseason poll, a stretch of close wins has propelled Wisconsin into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in 2022-23, debuting at No.22 in Monday’s rankings.

The Badgers have been ranked in at least one AP Top 25 poll in 21 of the last 22 years.

Joining No.1 Purdue as the only two conference teams at 2-0, Wisconsin (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) improved to 5-1 away from home with a 78-75 overtime win at Iowa Sunday night. It marked the seventh straight game the Badgers have played decided by five points or less – beating Dayton, USC, Marquette, Maryland, and Iowa and losing to No.8 Kansas in overtime and Wake Forest.

Wisconsin has also seen its profile in the NCAA NET rankings skyrocket. Debuting at No.75 in the first poll a week ago, the Badgers currently sit at No.44.

“We got a young team,” said senior forward Tyler Wahl, who leads UW with 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. “We’re still learning a lot, still figuring out roles, but that’s the good thing about basketball. You can mess up a lot of times but at the end of the day, you can come out on top.”

The ranking narrowly mirrors what happens to Wisconsin last season. Receiving no votes in the preseason, the Badgers entered the poll in Week Four (Nov.29) and rose as high as No.8 on their way to a regular season Big Ten championship.

The Badgers will host Lehigh (4-4) Thursday at the Kohl Center, after which they’ll be off for one week for final exams.

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