The Marquette men's basketball team has hit a rough patch, and the Golden Eagles keep tumbling down The Associated Press top 25 poll.

After a two-game losing skid, MU (11-5, 2-3 Big East) fell six spots to No. 17 in the rankings released on Monday. The Golden Eagles fell to 18th in the USA TODAY coaches' poll.

(Editor's note: Journal Sentinel beat writer Ben Steele had the Golden Eagles 20th in his weekly AP ballot).

The Golden Eagles had been ranked in the AP top 10 all season, reaching as high as No. 3, until they fell to 11th last week.

More: Zaide Lowery is an intriguing option for Marquette after injuries have depleted its bench

Who did Marquette lose to last week?

After a loss at Seton Hall on Jan. 6, the Golden Eagles played only once last week.

MU suffered through a woeful shooting performance, going 5 for 31 (16.1%) on three-pointers in a 69-62 loss to Butler on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.

The Golden Eagles kept getting bad news when it was announced Thursday that backup point guard Sean Jones suffered a torn ACL against the Bulldogs and will miss the rest of the season.

MU is already without sixth man Chase Ross, who suffered a separated shoulder against Seton Hall and will be re-evaluated at the end of the month.

Who do the Golden Eagles play this week?

Just a few hours after the AP poll was released Monday, MU was back in action against Villanova at Fiserv Forum.

The Golden Eagles then have a tough test against St. John's on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Red Storm has been revived by head coach Rick Pitino, starting out 4-2 in the Big East.

Marquette women's team goes up spot

The MU women were in the AP poll for the eighth straight week.

The Golden Eagles landed at No. 22 after victories over Seton Hall and DePaul, up one spot from last week.

MU's Liza Karlen was named Big East player of the week for the third time this season.

Karlen had a college-high 30 points in a 75-54 win at Seton Hall on Tuesday. She followed that with 19 points in a 78-47 domination of DePaul on Saturday night at the Al McGuire Center.

Karlen has led the Golden Eagles (15-2, 4-2 Big East) in scoring in eight games this season.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette ranked 17th in January 15th AP poll, No. 18 in coaches poll