A year after advancing to the Sweet 16, the Wisconsin Badgers have cracked the top 10 in the Associated Press' preseason men's basketball poll.
Led by seniors Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes the Badgers were the Big Ten's top-ranked team at No. 9, joining No. 11-ranked Indiana, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 15 Purdue and No. 25 Maryland.
Expectations are high for Wisconsin are high this year as head coach Greg Gard enters his first full season at the helm.
He took over for longtime coach Bo Ryan after the legendary Badgers boss retired in mid-December, guiding Wisconsin to a 22-13 record and wins over Pitt and Xavier in the NCAA tournament.
They kicked off the 2016-17 season with an emotional exhibition win over UW-Platteville on Sunday, as Gard coached opposite his brother Jeff in a game honoring their late father, who died last year after battling brain cancer.
Check out the full preseason poll below:
| Ranking | Team | Points |
| 1 | Duke | 1,612 |
| 2 | Kentucky | 1,479 |
| 3 | Kansas | 1.476 |
| 4 | Villanova | 1,465 |
| 5 | Oregon | 1,343 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 1,314 |
| 7 | Xavier | 1,167 |
| 8 | Virginia | 1,149 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 1,135 |
| 10 | Arizona | 1,004 |
| 11 | Indiana | 917 |
| 12 | Michigan St | 903 |
| 13 | Louisville | 755 |
| 14 | Gonzaga | 699 |
| 15 | Purdue | 672 |
| 16 | UCLA | 540 |
| 17 | Saint Mary's | 512 |
| 18 | UConn | 504 |
| 19 | Syracuse | 464 |
| 20 | West Virginia | 360 |
| 21 | Texas | 250 |
| 22 | Creighton | 231 |
| 23 | Rode Island | 199 |
| 24 | Iowa St | 168 |
| 25 | Maryland | 144 |
