B5Q Blogopean Union: Happy New Year!

We promise to not change a thing this year because we rule.

Good morning! This is going to be a daily(ish) post that discusses the goings on of the rest of the Big Ten Conference, and the country as needed. Much like the European Union, the Big Ten is a loosely confederated group of entities that sometimes have the same goals (like free movement of people between countries or not winning national titles in football or basketball) and sometimes accept new members that they later regret (Estonia or Nebraska).

We hope that you will use this post to comment on things happening around the conference and also as a sort of daily open thread to discuss breaking news or argue about Spotted Cow (which we NO LONGER DO).

• With the bowl game and it being the holiday season, with all that entails, we (read: I) haven’t been keeping up with the Blogopean Union so there will be multiple days’ worth of news in this post, some of which you may have already seen. Just be cool about it, ok?
• Also, happy 2022! What are your goals for the Badgers, in any sport or institutional context I guess, this year?
• T.J. Edwards has really carved out a role for himself in Philadelphia with the Eagles. While the Birds definitely still need help at linebacker next season, Edwards makes it so they don’t need as much and the coaching staff has noticed.

• Jack Sanborn could vastly improve his NFL Draft stock by preforming well in the East/West Shrine Bowl. He’ll join Matt Henningsen in Vegas for the pre-draft showcase event.

• The men’s basketball team will need to continue to force a ton of bad quality shots as they head into the teeth of conference play. Starting off with a top-five Purdue team on Monday night will show just how far they need to go to compete with the cream of the crop.

• I’m going to get a fuller write up done on the men’s hockey team later this weekend, but coming off of the winter break to beat Yale and No. 15 Providence in the Holiday Face-off in Milwaukee is an excellent way to start off the second half of the season.

• Speaking of big time hockey, the women’s team opens up a top-five series against Quinnipiac in just a few hours!

• All right South Carolina Football Twitter account, you win this round.

• A lot of the hype around the freshmen wrestlers at Wisconsin was rightly being directed at Braxton Amon, but Dean Hamiti is making a strong case for being the best freshman on the team. The Badgers, as a team, finished third in the Illinois Matmen Open this past week, one point behind Penn and 4.5 points behind Pitt.

Wisconsin’s champions were No. 17 Dean Hamiti (165) and No. 5 Trent Hilger (285). Hamiti dominated No. 14 Philip Conigliaro of Harvard, in a 20-6 major decision in the finals. Hilger defeated unattached Ethan Laird of Rider, 2-0.

• Look at our old pal George Balekji (formerly of NBC15) repping Wisconsin!

• Some of us on Badgers Twitter have decided that Braelon Allen is going to be Benjamin Buttoned and by the time he’s a senior we’ll all be saying that he’s 14 years old while running over a Nebraska defender.

• Important reminder.

• If you didn’t wish The Don a happy birthday, there is still time to do so before he puts you on a list. You can find him on Twitter right here.

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• If you want to read a post-Las Vegas Bowl reaction from an Arizona State point of view.
• Michigan State won the Peach Bowl over Pitt, but is their future even brighter?
• Penn State nabs a 4-star ATH for the 2023 class.
• Nebraska women’s hoops suffers their first loss of the season.
• The Music City Bowl was WILD. Here are the Twitter reactions from Purdue’s win over Tennessee.
• All-American safety Brandon Joseph is transferring from Northwestern. Here is why the Wildcats should be worried about this development.
• Maryland’s men’s hoops team has lost their only 2022 commit due to Mark Turgeon being fired.
• Evaluating Year 5 of P.J. Fleck.
• There is too much to link to, but just go check out Maize N Brew if you want to read about Michigan’s loss to Georgia in the semifinals.