The 2023 Wisconsin Badgers are not short of talent on the offensive side of the football. Head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo made it a priority this offseason, to bring in quarterback and wide receiver talent from the transfer portal to help the new offense start hot.
But Wisconsin already had productive players to help build the team’s core, though. Players that I’d argue have somewhat flown under the radar with all of the changes around them.
One of those guys is fourth-year wide receiver Chimere Dike, who our colleagues at CollegeSportsWire have as the No. 18 overall wide receiver in the country entering this season.
From their article:
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Dike is a multi-purpose weapon at wide receiver. Graham Mertz is now in Gainesville and the Badgers upgraded the quarterback room this past offseason. Dike should be close to a 1,000-yard campaign with Tanner Mordecai slinging it around the field.
Dike caught 47 passes for 689 yards and six touchdowns as Wisconsin’s No. 1 wide receiver last season. The room is now crowded with Skyler Bell, Keontez Lewis, C.J. Williams, Will Pauling and others. But if the Longo offense works, it’s easy to see Dike surpass the 1000-yard mark and be one of the more productive wide receivers in the nation.
Manuel Franco claims his $768 million Powerball jackpot
Manuel Franco, 24, of West Allis was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot.
Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 22, 2024, results for each game:
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Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 22 drawing
Midday: 9-3-4
Evening: 3-6-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 22 drawing
Midday: 7-7-1-9
Evening: 5-1-7-0
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Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from Dec. 22 drawing
Midday: 01-03-04-07-10-12-14-15-16-18-19
Evening: 02-03-06-09-10-12-15-16-19-20-21
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from Dec. 22 drawing
06-12-19-30-31
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Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from Dec. 22 drawing
05-06-08-27-29-34, Doubler: Y
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.
Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?
No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.
When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?
Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Former Kentucky OLB Tyreese Fearbry announces transfer to Wisconsin
Wisconsin is now up to 16 transfer portal commitments this month.
The latest to join the Badgers: Tyreese Fearbry, a projected outside linebacker who played the last three seasons at Kentucky.
A former four-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, Fearbry chose the Wildcats over offers Auburn, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Miami, among many others, coming out of high school.
Over three seasons, Fearbry had 21 total tackles. This fall, the Pennsylvania native played in 11 of Kentucky’s 12 games and had 14 tackles.
Fearbry is the latest portal commit for the Badgers up front. The staff has already landed defensive linemen Micheal Garner, Parker Petersen, Corey Walker and Charles Perkins, as well as edge Mason Reiger and linebacker Antarron Turner.
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Player to Watch: After averaging 2.4 points per game last season, Winter has improved to 10.6 ppg this year after scoring a career-high 20 vs. Butler. He leads UW in rebounds (5.6), offensive rebounds (23) and field goal percentage (.598).
Projected Starting Five (Detroit Mercy)
Player to watch: Leading the Titans with 16 points in Wednesday’s loss at Northern Kentucky, Lovejoy has been in double figures in nine of UDM’s 13 games. He leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals (1.9).
Series Notes
Wisconsin’s average margin of victory in its three prior meetings with UDM is 18.3 points.
The last time Wisconsin and Detroit Mercy met was Dec. 6, 2003, when UW claimed a 68-42 win. Devin Harris and Freddie Owens led the Badgers with 13 points, with Harris adding nine assists.
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Wisconsin is 72-4 all-time against teams in the Horizon League. Under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers hold a 9-0 all-time mark vs. Horizon teams.
The Titans are 30-123 all-time against the Big Ten Conference – 12-81 on the road – and have dropped 18 in a row against the league. The last win was at Michigan State, 68-65, on Dec. 13, 1997.
Wisconsin Notes
Wisconsin is 79-23 (.775) in regular season, non-conference games under Gard.
Wisconsin is 9-1 in non-conference play this season and has the chance to post double-digit out of conference wins for the first time since going 11-2 in 2016-17. The Badgers have tallied four non-conference wins over Power 5 teams, their most since 2018-19.
Wisconsin ranks 11th in the nation with an adjusted offensive efficiency of 120.1 per KenPom – through games played Dec. 18. This year’s adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 120.1 ranks as the school’s third-highest mark since KenPom began tracking in 1999.
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UW is averaging 15.2 assists per game, its most since 1993-94, while turning the ball over 9.6 times per game. UW has never had a season in which it has averaged 15+ assists per game while remaining below 10 turnovers per contest.
Wisconsin leads the NCAA in free throw percentage, 84.8% FT (234-for-276) at the line. UW has nearly made more FTs (234) than its foes have attempted (237) this season.
Detroit Mercy Notes
With 11 new players on the 15-man roster, the Titans returned just 14.2 percent of their scoring, 12.9 percent of their rebounding, and 18.0 percent of their minutes played from last season.
The Titans snapped a 22-game road slide with a win at Ball State on November 20.
UDM posted four wins in November, the most in the month since going 4-3 at the start of the 2017-18 season
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Detroit Mercy has owned the glass this year, outrebounding its opponents in nine of its 13 games. The Titans are 52nd in the country with 13.2 offensive boards and 74th in DI with a +5.4 rebounding average.
UDM has a 173-107 margin on second-chance points on the season.
Prediction
Calling out a play that involves Crowl getting an early shot attempt in the low post is nothing new for Gard. Off the top of his head, he estimates that getting the ball to Crowl in the low post within Wisconsin’s first three offensive possessions happens 90 percent of the time.
But after being publicly called out by his coach and pushed to be more aggressive by his teammates, Wisconsin intentionally made a call to get Crowl the ball near the low block on the first possession. Seeing him convert by being physical with his back to the basket, unleashing a spin move for an easy bucket was the positive response the staff was looking for.
Crowl’s season-high 18 points against Butler were a catalyst in breaking a three-game losing skid. He did it playing aggressively and in short spurts, playing in just 17 minutes (second-fewest of the season) and going 7-for-10 from the floor (second-most attempts of the year).
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“It’s a credit to him,” Gard said. “The 17 minutes that he had, he took full advantage of those.”
The renewed play of Crowl and the growth of Nolan Winter could give Wisconsin a punch to the offense it hasn’t had through the first two months of the season. Crowl and Winter had only reached double figures in the same game once until last Saturday. The duo combined for 38 points and their play helped Wisconsin outscore Butler, 40-to-24, in the paint, its third-highest total for the season and the second-highest paint-scoring differential.
“They play and have pride in playing for what’s on the front of the jersey, knowing that the back of the jersey will get taken care of,” Gard said. “You really get individual accolades through team success. I don’t see a lot of MVP awards being handed out to an 8-25 team.”
Getting to 8-25 would be a huge step forward for Detroit Mercy, which opened last season with a 26-game losing streak and finished 1-31, the worst record in Division-1. Hiring Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery, who has coached with Tom Izzo on two different occasions, the Titans run some patterns similar to the Spartans in addition to executing three-quarters court pressure and zone.
The Titans also have a good player in Lovejoy, as the transfer from Eastern Michigan is one of 10 Division 1 players who averages 13.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Detroit ranks 54th nationally in rebounding, averaging just under 40 per game. The problem the Titans are facing is health, as the Titans have three rotation players averaging at least 8.9 ppg out with injuries. The Titans played 10 student-athletes at NKU, six of those were freshmen who accounted for 101 of the 200 minutes as well as 38 of the 60 points and 22 of the 34 boards.
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Wisconsin should handle an undermanned unit, as long as the Badgers aren’t overly rusty from finals week.
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*Chat about this article in The Badgers’ Den
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