There's a lot happening around the Wisconsin Badgers right now across a bunch of sports. Let's look around the athletic department and do some quick hitters for each of these sports: hockey, football, volleyball, NFL updates, and basketball. Here we go.
Wisconsin men's and women's hockey are hanging at the top of the rankings
The Wisconsin Badgers arguably have the best men's and women's programs in the country. The latest rankings have the women, far and away the top team in the land, at 35-1-2 with Ohio State ranked at No. 2 and a record of 27-7-3.
The men, on the other hand, are sitting at No. 2 in the USCHO.com rankings behind Michigan. Though any Wisconsin fan would tell you that it's nonsense, considering Wisconsin has a better record and split the two-game series head-to-head.
Luke Fickell checking out a couple of portal quarterbacks
The portal doesn't officially open until January 2nd, but players have already declared their intent to enter it, with many football seasons already ended. In Division-II, it works a bit differently, and the portal is already open, and players are free to move around. This is important for Luke Fickell, as Wisconsin has been in contact with West Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes and his primary receiver.
There's also sources that say that Wisconsin is interested in Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey.
Volleyball beat Stanford for the first time - rematch with Texas in Elite Eight
The Badgers are in the round of eight and will be playing No. 1 Texas on ESPN at 6:30 pm CT. It's a rematch from an earlier season game. However, both coaches are talking about how different each team is and how it will be a battle. Charlie Fuerbringer also has vowed that it will be different this time.
Former Badger jostled around the NFL while TJ Watt is recovering from collasped lung
Former Badger tight end Hayden Rucci was released by the Miami Dolphins, picked up by the Detroit Lions, then released again, ultimately to be grabbed by the Dolphins (again) and placed on the practice squad. He had a funny social media post about it all.
JJ Watt updated TJ Watt's health on social media the other day, with an encouraging report after a collapsed lung and being rushed to the hospital. It's not known how long he will be out, but it won't be as long as you would think, as the lung heals pretty fast, and it doesn't sound like there is any other internal damage.
Greg Gard needs defense and he needs it now
Wisconsin lost to Nebraska 90-60. It was the biggest loss ever under Greg Gard, and he was as frustrated as you will ever see him in his post-game remarks. He talked about how he needs to find defense and will bench players who are unwilling to play it.
This led to an idea about bringing in Riley Mahlman from the football team (a former high school hoops star) to provide some physicality in the front court. That's a fun idea, but a long shot that Greg Gard would do something like that. You can read about that here.