A top-10 team
December 18, 2008 | Women's Basketball
The Wisconsin women's basketball team is off to one of its best starts in program history at 10-1. Despite the fast start, the Badgers have yet to crack the top 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll, but are receiving votes in both polls.
While the Badgers may not be one the top-25 teams according to those polls, they do rank among the top-10 teams in the country in terms of RPI. According to RealTimeRPI.com , UW is ranked fifth in the country and has the 10th-toughest schedule. Stanford ranks No. 1 according to the Web site while Connecticut and North Carolina are second and third, respectively. Maryland is just ahead of Wisconsin at No. 4.
Wisconsin also ranks sixth in RPI and ninth in strength of schedule according to CollegeRPI.com . One other site, RPIRatings.com , lists the Badgers at ninth and 20th in strength of schedule.
Wisconsin's strong schedule includes eight games against teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press poll, released Dec. 16. Baylor, who was ranked No. 6 during its game against Wisconsin at the Paradise Jam, is the highest-ranked team at No. 10 and Ohio State is also ranked No. 18. South Dakota State, Purdue and Michigan are all receiving votes this week. Green Bay and Marquette were both receiving votes when the Badgers played them last week.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Badgers as they open up the Big Ten Conference season against Iowa, the 2008 Big Ten co-regular season champions and a 2008 NCAA Tournament team, Monday at the Kohl Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
