The 2026-27 college basketball season is just a few weeks away, and we saw the Big Ten preseason media poll revealed earlier this month ahead of the season.
There are a few surprises, while several notable programs that made splashes this offseason kick things off at the top. Through all the changes, where do the Wisconsin Badgers rank in the annual poll?
Here are the full results of the preseason media poll, conducted by the Columbus Dispatch, with first-place votes in parentheses.
1. Illinois (18)
2. Michigan State (9)
3. Michigan (1)
4. UCLA
5. Nebraska
6. Purdue
7. USC
8. Ohio State
9. Indiana
10. Iowa
11. Wisconsin
12. Maryland
13. Minnesota
14. Oregon
15. Washington
16. Northwestern
17. Rutgers
18. Penn State
Wisconsin comes in at No. 11 in a deep Big Ten conference that has added a lot of new talent this year. This comes a year after they were ranked seventh in the preseason media polls, which was one of the higher rankings the program got under head coach Greg Gard.
The Badgers also started the year in the AP Top 25 at No. 24. This year, they’re not among the top 25, nor are they listed among the next 15 teams that received votes.
Two seasons ago, the Badgers were tied for 12th in the preseason media poll, and they ended up fifth in the conference while making it to the Big Ten Championship Game. Wisconsin has ranked outside the top nine just once under Greg Gard: the 2022-23 season, when they ended up 11th and in the NIT.
Historically, they’ve exceeded expectations in the conference under Greg Gard, making him one of the more underrated Big Ten and national coaches, and that’s also seen in their AP Poll results. Wisconsin has only been ranked to start the season twice in the last nine years: the 2020-21 season and last year.
Coincidentally, both of those seasons were not the most consistent for Gard. The Badgers had strong stretches, but were bounced as a No. 5 seed in the first round last season. Back in 2020-21, they only managed to earn a No. 9 seed in the tournament, but made it to the second round.
However, in each of those nine seasons, Wisconsin has been ranked at some point during the season, cracking the top 15 in every year but two, and the top five in three of those seasons.
The Badgers have a brand new group of players this season. We’ll see how that group can adjust, and how well they play as a team in a loaded conference.
