Following a pair of victories last week, the UW-Platteville's men's basketball team is now ranked fourth in the country, according to D3hoops.com.
The Pioneers beat seventh-ranked UW-Whitewater 86-78 before a sold-out Williams Fieldhouse crowd and won 55-51 at UW-Stout. UWP is now 16-2 on the year and 8-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one game behind third-ranked UW-Stevens Point.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.
In other Pioneer basketball news:
*Jeff Skemp earned the WIAC Player of the Week award for the second time this season.
* The annual Alumni Games are Saturday, Jan. 31. The women's alumni game is at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men's at 10:30 a.m. At 1 p.m., the Pioneer men face UW-River Falls, while the women play the Falcons 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's game. The alumni games are free to the public, and one ticket is good for both Pioneer games.
*A new, inter-active trophy case featuring the Bo Ryan Era and the donors that made the Bo Ryan Court possible will be unveiled Saturday at noon. For more information: http://www.uwplatt.edu/news/2009/01/display-to-recognize-bo-ryan-court.html.
*The Pioneer Basketball Luncheon is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30 at noon-1 p.m. in the University Room of the Pioneer Student Center. Coaches Paul Combs and Tina Kuhle will make presentations, and selected players will be introduced. The luncheon is open to the public and costs $7 per person.
Week 8 men's poll
| # | Team | W-L | Pts. | Last Week |
| 1 | St. Thomas (18) | 17-0 | 618 | 2 |
| 2 | Washington U. (7) | 15-1 | 606 | 3 |
| 3 | UW-Stevens Point | 15-2 | 570 | 4 |
| 4 | UW-Platteville | 16-2 | 536 | 5 |
| 5 | Capital | 16-1 | 502 | 8 |
| 6 | UW-Whitewater | 15-3 | 433 | 7 |
| 7 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 15-2 | 424 | 1 |
| 8 | Trinity (Texas) | 16-1 | 422 | 10 |
| 9 | Puget Sound | 15-2 | 399 | 11 |
| 10 | Buena Vista | 16-2 | 387 | 6 |
| 11 | Ithaca | 15-1 | 378 | 12 |
| 12 | Richard Stockton | 17-2 | 318 | 13 |
| 13 | Elms | 15-1 | 315 | 16 |
| 14 | St. Norbert | 14-1 | 305 | 17 |
| 15 | Augustana | 14-4 | 300 | 15 |
| 16 | Amherst | 14-2 | 295 | 9 |
| 17 | Elmhurst | 13-4 | 233 | 19 |
| 18 | Mass-Dartmouth | 14-2 | 185 | 14 |
| 19 | Middlebury | 16-2 | 159 | 25 |
| 20 | Carnegie Mellon | 13-3 | 131 | 18 |
| 21 | St. John Fisher | 14-2 | 126 | — |
| 22 | Texas-Dallas | 15-2 | 109 | 20 |
| 23 | Centre | 14-3 | 73 | — |
| 24 | Carroll | 13-3 | 55 | — |
| 25 | Gettysburg | 12-3 | 42 | 22 |
Dropped out: No. 21 Roanoke, No. 23 William Paterson, No. 24 Franklin and Marshall.
Others receiving votes: Roanoke 40, Franklin and Marshall 31, William Paterson 29, Worcester Polytech 23, Anderson 18, Brandeis 12, Rhode Island College 9, Whitworth 9, MIT 7, Salem State 7, North Central (Ill.) 5, Randolph-Macon 3, Washington and Lee 3, Cal Lutheran 2, Carthage 2, DePauw 2, DeSales 1, Virginia Wesleyan 1.