IU men’s basketball dropped out of the rankings for the first time this season when the latest edition of the AP Top 25 poll was released Monday.
IU, which was tied at 25 with USC in the rankings last week, dropped its third consecutive game Tuesday when it lost to Wisconsin, 75-68, before snapping the streak Saturday and beating Illinois, 96-80.
IU received six votes, which is fourth among teams not in the rankings this week. This is the first week the Hoosiers are unranked this season after starting the year at No. 11 in the polls and moving up as high as No. 3 in the Nov. 21 poll.
Three Big Ten teams still remain in the top 25 with Minnesota, the newest ranked conference team, checking in at No. 24. Purdue is the highest-ranked Big Ten team this week at No. 17 after winning both of its games this week against Ohio State and Wisconsin.
The Badgers fell five spots this week to No. 18 after losing to the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers will travel outside the state of Indiana on Tuesday for the first time this season since beating Kansas in Hawaii when it plays at Maryland at 9 p.m. The Hoosiers will wrap up the week at noon Sunday at home against Rutgers.
Zain Pyarali
