B5Q Blogopean Union: Maui Invitational will be a little less tropical this year

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).

• Despite the offense’s struggles this year, you can still count on TE Jake Ferguson having at least one catch in every game. Hopefully next week we are celebrating both a win AND Ferguson having this record all to himself.

• Freshman wrestler Braxton Amos was honored during the game on Saturday for the two (!!) medals that he won at the World Championships last month.

• The basketball Red/White Scrimmage is back and open to the public again this season! The men’s and women’s teams will be there participating in some All-Star Weekend style skills competitions in addition to the scrimmage. You don’t need a ticket and seating will just be first come first served.

• Speaking of the men’s basketball team, they’ll still be heading west this season for a non-conference tournament just, not as far west as they’d originally planned. Hawaii has strict COVID-19 travel restrictions so this season’s Maui Invitational will be played in Las Vegas.

• The women’s hockey team is off to an undefeated start after two weekends of action and, well, they are scoring at a pretty insane clip currently.

• J.J. has a whole lot more coming on Monday about Big Ten soccer, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fact that the Badgers upset top-10 Maryland on Sunday.

• The men’s hockey team lost their scrimmage to Minnesota Duluth 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in Chippewa Falls. From what I saw on Twitter, it looked like the whole day was a lot of fun for fans and, despite the loss, a good learning experience for the Badgers ahead of the actual season starting on Friday.

• JT23 finally found the endzone this season. All it took was a game against the Dolphins! Kevin will have a full recap of the Badgers in the NFL later this week.

• Michigan State is almost a top-10 team. They whupped Western Kentucky this past weekend and are looking, dare I say, dangerous?
• Iowa is No. 3 in the country and looking like the team to beat in the Big Ten West. How high can they fly?
• Speaking of top-ranked teams in the Big Ten, Iowa’s opponent this weekend is No. 4 Penn State who are slight underdogs to the Hawkeyes.
• Nebraska volleyball is trying to hit their stride as they enter the meat of their Big Ten schedule.
• Purdue continues to reach “crossroads” games and continues to take the wrong turn under Jeff Brohm.
• What was the turning point in Michigan’s win over Wisconsin?
• Rutgers has played well this season. They got blown out by Ohio State on Saturday, although that doesn’t REALLY matter for what the Scarlet Knights are trying to do this season.
• You may have heard this, but No. 8 Maryland men’s soccer lost to Wisconsin on Sunday. Here is Testudo Times’ recap.
• Illinois men’s basketball is trying not to forget how they felt after an early NCAA Tournament exit last season.