What’s that noise?
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Without further ado -
What’s brewing?
Luke Fickell completes his staff for Wisconsin football
Wisconsin wide receiver enters the transfer portal
Outside linebacker returns for Wisconsin football
Wisconsin basketball vs. Northwestern postponed
Wisconsin men's hockey resumes against Ohio State
Topping off the six-pack: UW-Milwaukee men's basketball is rolling
Luke Fickell completes his staff for Wisconsin football
Luke Fickell has hired the Wisconsin football team's next running backs coach. The hire means Fickell has completed his staff because FBS college football programs are permitted ten on-field assistant coaches. The newest member of the Badgers' staff is tasked with helping recruit and develop the next batch of NFL-bound Wisconsin running backs.
According to John Brice of FootballScoop, Wisconsin is hiring Devon Spalding, who will reunite with Fickell. Spalding worked under Fickell at Cincinnati as a graduate assistant in 2019. Since then, he has spent three seasons coaching running backs at Youngstown State of the FCS Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Running backs have flourished under Spalding at Youngstown State. YSU has averaged over 200 yards rushing in the previous two seasons. In the 2022 season, YSU running back Jaleel McLaughlin was named the MVFC's offensive player of the year and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award given to the top offensive player in FCS. McLaughlin also holds the NCAA All-Division career rushing record.
Wisconsin wide receiver enters the transfer portal
After bringing in a plethora of wide receivers through the transfer portal, Wisconsin football is losing one through it. Head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have built a receiver room filled with talent and depth that still contains 12-projected scholarship players. Since Fickell's hiring, Wisconsin has added one high school recruit and four transfer wide receivers.
Exiting the program is Dean Engram. Engram, the son of outgoing offensive coordinator Bobby Engram, has two years of eligibility remaining. In his one season at receiver, the Maryland native notched 13 catches and 152 yards in 13 games. He also returned 24 punts with an average return of 5.5 yards.
His announced entry to the transfer portal comes one day after Engram posted highlights of him playing cornerback at Wisconsin. When Paul Chryst hired Dean's father as offensive coordinator, the former three-star recruit switched positions to receiver. According to Pro Football Focus, Engram allowed the lowest passer rating in coverage during the 2021 season.
Outside linebacker returns for Wisconsin football
Outside linebacker is one of the positions Luke Fickell may have needed more depth in his first season as head coach of Wisconsin football. Until this week, the Badgers could have had only two scholarship OLBs who were juniors or older.
Now, the Badgers have more depth at the position as CJ Goetz announced his return for a sixth season. The 6'3" Muskego, WI native has played in 46 games at Wisconsin, including 13 last season. His 61 total tackles were the third most on the team, including nine tackles for loss and two sacks.
2022 was Goetz's breakout season. Before 2022, he recorded 28 tackles in 33 games. Wisconsin will need Goetz to maintain his high level of play as it attempts to replace the production of Nick Herbig. Herbig declared for the NFL draft after leading the nation in sacks per game and leading the Big Ten in tackles for loss per game. According to CFB film room, Herbig led the Big Ten in pressure rate.
Wisconsin basketball vs. Northwestern postponed
Wisconsin will not play against the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday as initially scheduled. Northwestern cannot play a game for the second time this week due to COVID-19 cases within the Wildcats' program. Northwestern reportedly only has six players available; the Big Ten requires teams to have seven players available on game day.
Earlier this week, Northwestern had to postpone its game against the Iowa Hawkeyes; the Big Ten has since rescheduled that game. In concert with the Big Ten, Northwestern and Wisconsin will also attempt to reschedule their game.
Wisconsin plays next on Wednesday, January 25th, at Maryland.
Wisconsin men's hockey resumes against Ohio State
Wisconsin begins the second half of Big Ten play tonight against Ohio State. In the next six weeks, the Badgers (9-13-0, 2-10-0 B1G) will take on each of their six Big Ten conference mates. Their first matchup in this stretch is against the Ohio State Buckeyes (15-8-1, 8-6-0) at the Kohl Center. You can watch tonight's game at 7:00 PM CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin.
The Badgers opened the season against Ohio State back in October. Ohio State won both games in Columbus 3-1 and 4-3. Wisconsin, led by head coach Tony Granato, had a 3-0 lead in the second game but could not hang on for the win.
Carson Bantle, a key contributor for Wisconsin, will be unavailable tonight. The second/third line left wing was ejected for fighting in the Badgers' exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 team. Players who are ejected for fighting are also disqualified for the next game.
Bantle's suspension came when he was heating up on the stat sheet. The Onalaska native has six goals on the season, but he scored four in the last four games - including three in the previous two games. Any potential scoring production is a significant loss for Granato's team, which was nearly doubled-up in scoring in the first half of Big Ten play. In the first half of conference play, opponents outscored Wisconsin 49-25.
Ohio State boasts one of the best penalty kills in the nation. Its .895 kill percentage is second-best in Division 1. Beyond the kill percentage, the Buckeyes' are aggressive on the PK. Its nine shorthanded goals lead the country and are three more than the second-highest mark. Wisconsin converted one of six power play opportunities in its first series against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State is ranked 7th in the USCHO.com poll. It is currently third in the Big Ten conference standings. Wisconsin is unranked and last in the Big Ten.
Topping off the six-pack: UW-Milwaukee men's basketball is rolling
I have had the pleasure of attending three UW-Milwaukee Panthers basketball games this season. I keep returning because this team is fun to watch and defies expectations. I returned to Panther Arena last night as Milwaukee defeated the Robert Morris Colonials.
Bart Lundy is in his first season as head coach of the Panthers. Lundy has previous experience in the Milwaukee area after serving as the Director of Basketball Operations at Marquette from 2009-2012. Now at UW-Milwaukee, he is coaching a team that the media picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll.
Last night, Milwaukee defeated Robert Morris 77-69. Leading the charge was sophomore guard BJ Freeman who leads his team in points and rebounds per game. Against the Colonials, he recorded 26 points and seven rebounds. In Milwaukee's last six games, Freeman is averaging 22.7 points. That average would place him in the top five for scoring nationwide if extrapolated throughout the entire season.
Overall, this team is entertaining to watch. According to KenPom, the Panthers play with the 31st quickest adjusted tempo in the country and, at 15.8 seconds, play the 30th shortest offensive possessions. That does not stop Lundy's team from playing hard on defense. Milwaukee runs up and down the floor with its press defense. Throughout the game, Lundy switches from calling a half-court, three-quarter, and full-court press. Confusing teams, Milwaukee forces opponents deep into the shot clock as it ranks in the top 25% for longest defensive possessions.
Oh, and Bol Bol's cousin, Moses, plays for the Panthers too!
With a 13-6 record, Lundy is blowing past expectations. Milwaukee currently sits atop the Horizon League standings with wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky, which tied atop the conference's preseason poll. Milwaukee plays at home on Saturday against the Youngstown State Penguins. The game will be Milwaukee's second in less than ten days played against a team it was tied with for first place in the Horizon League.
The Panthers and the Penguins are currently tied with Northern Kentucky for first place in the conference. Milwaukee defeated Northern Kentucky on January 12th, 80-75.
On, Wisconsin.