Losing, does not help your standing in the Associated Press top 25 poll, obviously.
But some losses hurt more than others. Wisconsin did slide to No. 6 in the latest poll, but lost only 72 votes in the process. Losing on the road to a ranked team like Maryland, which is ranked highly as well, obviously was a factor, as was Gonzaga, which was No. 3, falling at home.
Does this explain all the votes in this week's ballot? Of course not.
Several voters naturally moved Wisconsin down. The most was four spots by Daniel Shirley of the Macon Telegraph (from 5 to 9) and Andrew Carter of The News & Observer (2 to 6). Several left Wisconsin right where they had the Badgers last week. Most of these had UW at No. 5, but this also includes Cecil Hunt of the Tuscaloosa News, who still has the Badgers at No. 3.
And, yes, several voters moved Wisconsin up on their ballot. A Gonzaga factor, perhaps. Steve Pivovar of the Omaha World-Herald moved Wisconsin from 4 to 3, for example. And Ron Morris, who many people have questioned to me on Twitter, moved Wisconsin from 8 -- where he had the Badgers the previous six weeks -- to 6.
Go figure.
Here's a look at this week's ballot compared to last week's:
| Voter | Week 17 | Week 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Cecil Hunt, The Tuscaloosa News | 3 | 3 |
| Steve Pivovar, Omaha World-Herald | 3 | 4 |
| Dave Borges, New Haven Register | 4 | 2 |
| Jay Drew, Salt Lake Tribune | 4 | 4 |
| Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World | 4 | 5 |
| Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star | 4 | 5 |
| Aaron Brenner, The Post and Courier | 5 | 5 |
| B.J. Rains, Idaho Press-Tribune | 5 | 5 |
| Ben Fredrickson, Knoxville News Sentinel | 5 | 4 |
| Bob Holt, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | 5 | 5 |
| Bret Stretlow, Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer | 5 | 5 |
| Chris Goff, Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette | 5 | 5 |
| Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal | 5 | 6 |
| Christian Caple, Tacoma News Tribune | 5 | 5 |
| Cormac Gordon, Staten Island Advance | 5 | 2 |
| Doug Haller, The Arizona Republic | 5 | 3 |
| Geoff Grammer, Albuquerque Journal | 5 | 5 |
| J.P. Butler, Olean Times Herald | 5 | 5 |
| Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News | 5 | 5 |
| Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | 5 | 5 |
| Kevin McNamara, Providence Journal | 5 | 5 |
| Marcus Jackson, Champaign News-Gazette | 5 | 5 |
| Matt McCoy, WTVN-AM | 5 | 5 |
| Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | 5 | 5 |
| Mitch Vingle, Charleston Gazette | 5 | 5 |
| Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV | 5 | 3 |
| Scott Mansch, Great Falls Tribune | 5 | 3 |
| Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated | 5 | 2 |
| Soren Petro, WHB-AM | 5 | 3 |
| Andrew Carter, The News & Observer | 6 | 2 |
| Chris Lang, Lynchburg News & Advance | 6 | 3 |
| Gary Williams, Comcast SportsNet | 6 | 5 |
| Jason Smith, The Commerical Appeal | 6 | 5 |
| Jay Faraudo, Bay Area News Group | 6 | 5 |
| Jerry Carino, Gannett/New Jesey | 6 | 5 |
| Jim Benson, Bloomington Pantagraph | 6 | 5 |
| Joe Rexrode, Detroit Free Press | 6 | 5 |
| John Bohnenkamp, The Hawk Eye | 6 | 5 |
| John Feinstein, National Public Radio | 6 | 5 |
| Kelly Hines, Tulsa World | 6 | 5 |
| Kevin Lyttle, Austin American-Statesman | 6 | 5 |
| Kieran Darcy, ESPN.com | 6 | 4 |
| Mark Berman, Roanoke Times | 6 | 6 |
| Matt Vatour, Daily Hampshire Gazette | 6 | 3 |
| Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | 6 | 5 |
| Ron Morris, The State | 6 | 8 |
| Scott Wolf, Los Angeles Daily News | 6 | 5 |
| Steve Wiseman, Durham Herald-Sun | 6 | 5 |
| T.J. Were, WJTV-TV | 6 | 5 |
| Terry Toohey, Delaware County Daily Times | 6 | 5 |
| Tyson Alger, Oregonian | 6 | 5 |
| Bill Knight, El Paso Times | 7 | 5 |
| Brandon Marcello, Alabama media group | 7 | 5 |
| Brian Howell, Daily Camera | 7 | 5 |
| Dick Vitale, ABC/ESPN | 7 | 5 |
| Doug Doughty, The Roanoke Times | 7 | 5 |
| Elton Alexander, Cleveland Plain Dealer | 7 | 5 |
| Fletcher Mackel, WDSU-TV | 7 | 5 |
| Joe Juliano, Philadelphia Inquirer | 7 | 5 |
| John McNamara, The Capital | 7 | 5 |
| John Werner, Waco Tribune-Herald | 7 | 5 |
| Randy Rosetta, The Times-Picayune | 7 | 4 |
| Chris Dachille, WBAL-TV | 8 | 6 |
| Joey Johnston, Tampa Tribune | 8 | 5 |
| Daniel Shirley, Macon Telegraph | 9 | 5 |
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