Despite earning a 23-point win over Detroit Mercy, the Wisconsin men received fewer votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll Top 25s, which were released on Monday.

The Badgers (10-3, 0-2) stretched their win streak to two following three straight losses, which included two in Big Ten play. Wisconsin returns to league action on Friday, Jan. 3 when they welcome Iowa to Madison.

In the AP Poll, the Badgers picked up nine votes, as No. 25 Baylor received 125. In the Coaches Poll, Wisconsin got seven votes, with No. 25 Purdue receiving 73.

Oregon is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in both rankings, coming in at No. 9. Michigan State is 18th in both with Purdue No. 21 in the AP Poll followed by UCLA, with Illinois No. 24. In the Coaches Poll, UCLA is 21st, Illinois is 22nd and Purdue is 25th.

Tennessee remained No. 1, receiving the majority of the first-place votes. SEC rival Auburn is second followed by Iowa State and Duke. 

Here is the college basketball men’s AP Coaches Poll Top 25 for Week 8:

(Dec. 23)

1. Tennessee (41)

2. Auburn (21)

3. Iowa State

4. Duke

5. Alabama

6. Florida

7. Kansas

8. Marquette

9. Oregon

10. Kentucky

11. Connecticut

12. Oklahoma

13. Texas A&M

14. Gonzaga

15. Houston

16. Mississippi

17. Cincinnati

18. Michigan State

19. Mississippi State

20. San Diego State

21. Purdue

22. UCLA

23. Arkansas

24. Illinois

25. Baylor

Others receiving votes: Maryland 119, Dayton 108, Drake 91, St. John’s 90, Memphis 65, Michigan 50, Georgia 45, Pittsburgh 27, West Virginia 26, Missouri 25, Ohio State 23, North Carolina 20, Clemson 18, Arizona State 13, Utah State 9, Wisconsin 9, Texas Tech 8, Indiana 8, St. Bonaventure 4, Penn State 3.

Dropped from rankings: Memphis 21, Dayton 22, Michigan 24, Clemson 25.

Here is the college basketball men’s Coaches Poll Top 25 for Week 8:

(Dec. 23)

1. Tennessee (20)

2. Auburn (11)

3. Iowa State

4. Duke

5. Florida

6. Alabama

7. Kansas

8. Marquette

9. Oregon

10. Kentucky

11. Oklahoma

12. Houston

13. Texas A&M

14. Connecticut

15. Gonzaga

16. Mississippi

17. Cincinnati

18. Michigan State

19. Mississippi State

20. San Diego State

21. UCLA

22. Illinois

23. Baylor

24. St. John’s

25. Purdue

Others receiving votes: Maryland 65; Michigan 52; Drake 51; Arkansas 51; Georgia 42; Clemson 40; Dayton 28; Memphis 25; Pittsburgh 22; Utah State 14; Texas Tech 9; Wisconsin 7; North Carolina 6; Missouri 6; West Virginia 5; Penn State 1.

Dropped from rankings: Michigan 21; Memphis 22; Dayton 24.

Family and friends said their final farewells Monday to a substitute teacher killed in a shooting at a private religious school in Wisconsin last week, describing her as a devout Christian with Southern roots who made copious notes in her personal Bible and planned to take her children to Disney World next year.

Erin Michelle West, 42, was killed on Dec. 16 when 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire with a handgun at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. A 14-year-old student, Rubi Vergara, also was killed and six others were wounded before Rupnow turned the gun on herself. Rupnow was a first-semester student at the school. Investigators are still trying to piece together her motive.

Scores of people attended West’s midday funeral at Doxa Church in Fitchburg, a Madison suburb. West’s casket was set up before a stage decorated with Christmas trees adorned with golden lights. A giant photograph of her was displayed on a screen above the stage throughout the hourlong service.

Rob Warren, the church’s pastor, fought back tears as he welcomed people.

“In a sense, no one wants to be here,” he said. “But in another sense I believe we’re all supposed to be here right now, to hurt and heal together. As painful as it is, I believe we really all do need this moment.”

According to West’s obituary, she was born in St. Charles, Missouri, and graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2005. She married her husband, Jack, in 2005, in Powder Springs, Georgia. The couple has three daughters.

Warren read several verses from West’s personal Bible, remarking on all the handwritten notes and underlined sections throughout. He said that after Jack West gave him the Bible, the first page he turned to had the phrase “the Gospel is for everyone” written in blue ink.

“This is what Erin West was about,” the pastor said, adding later: “Erin is in heaven right now with Jesus and she’s more alive than she ever has been and that’s the truth.”

Nate Kaloupek, Doxa Church’s director of leadership development and equipping, gave a short elegy, describing how Erin met Jack in an online Christian chatroom and how Jack’s company, Cardinal Glass, moved the couple around the country, first to Oklahoma and the Pacific Northwest before they settled in Wisconsin about six years ago.

Struggling at times to find his voice, Kaloupek said Erin loved the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A and she showed her Georgia roots often by quipping “love y’all” or “hey, y’all.”

He joked that Erin was “really bad” at hiding her emotions and felt God had called her to work at ALCS. She led prayers for people in their church group and tracked what prayers were answered, he said.

She loved camping trips with her family, wine-tasting trips with her husband and was looking forward to taking their daughters to Disney World this spring, he added, before concluding the elegy with: “She’d want me to say ‘love y’all.’ Thank you.”

Wisconsin transfer outside linebacker Anelu Lafaele committed to Michigan State on Sunday.

The former four-star recruit joins a growing list of former Badgers to find new transfer destinations, joining OLB Leon Lowery (Illinois), CB Amare Snowden and S Braedyn Moore (Toledo), CB Jonas Duclona (South Florida), S Justin Taylor (Wyoming) and TE Riley Nowakowski (Indiana).

 Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Lafaele entered the portal last week after one year with the Badgers. He was one of the highest-rated commits in the program’s top-ranked class of 2024, ranked as the No. 601 overall player in the class and the No. 27 edge rusher.

The Hawaii native did not see the field as a true freshman and transferred out with four years of eligibility remaining. Along with CB Xavier Lucas, DL Hank Weber, and QB Mabrey Mettauer, he is one of four members of Wisconsin’s class of 2024 to depart.

Lafaele joins a Michigan State program that went 5-7 in year one under new head coach Jonathan Smith in 2024. Smith is working to return the Spartans to the level of success they sustained during the 2010s — just as Luke Fickell is trying to do at Wisconsin.

https://twitter.com/LafaeleAnelu/status/1871019969112330256

The Badgers will face Lafaele when they host the Spartans in 2026. Wisconsin is likely to have new faces at edge rusher by that date, with seniors Darryl Peterson, Aaron Witt and Mason Reiger (transfer) set to lead the room in 2025. Rising junior Sebastian Cheeks and class of 2024 signees Thomas Heiberger and Ernest Willor Jr. appear to be next in line at the position. Lafaele would have competed for snaps with that second group. Now, he’ll be on the opposing sideline looking to rush the Badgers’ quarterback.

For more on where former Badgers are headed, including several to Big Ten destinations, bookmark our 2024 transfer portal departure tracker.

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