The Wisconsin basketball team is in the top 10 of the national rankings for the first time in a year.

The Badgers jumped five spots to No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and have now moved up 15 spots in the last two weeks. The ranking is the highest the club has been since also being eighth in the Jan. 4, 2021 poll. Last year’s team fell out of the top 10 in late January and was out of the poll entirely by the end of the season.

This year’s group, though, has earned its way into the top-10. The Badgers own a 14-2 record, their best start under coach Greg Gard, and currently sit second in the Big Ten standings at 5-1. They own wins over then-No. 3 Purdue on the road and then-No. 12 Houston on a neutral court. Their only loss with star guard Johnny Davis in the lineup came at Ohio State, but Wisconsin avenged that setback with a 10-point win over the 19th-ranked Buckeyes last Thursday.

The Badgers road won’t get easier in what could be argued is the toughest conference in the country. They travel to Northwestern on Tuesday to face a Wildcats team that just beat then-No.10 Michigan State on the road. Wisconsin then comes home to face those Spartans, which fell to No. 14 in this week’s poll.

UW still has to go to Michigan State and No. 17 Illinois, while another matchup with Purdue awaits in the final week of the regular season.

The full poll, led by new No. 1 Gonzaga, can be found here.