2/2/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday
2 February 2024 Sports
Nebraska came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to knock off No. 6 Wisconsin 80-72 in overtime on Thursday night, the second top-10 opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten this season.
Rienk Mast scored early in overtime to give the Huskers the lead for good, and when time expired the students spilled onto the court for the second time this season. The first was Jan. 9 when the Huskers beat then-No. 1 Purdue 88-72.
C.J. Wilcher scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Mast finished with 20, and the Huskers (16-6, 6-5) improved to 6-0 at home in Big Ten play.
It was Nebraska’s biggest comeback since erasing a 19-point deficit against Iowa in 2013. Since 2000, Wisconsin had been 120-0 when leading by 15 or more points at halftime.
AJ Storr matched his season high with 28 points to lead the Badgers (16-5, 9-2). Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn had 13 apiece.
The Cornhuskers were down as many as 19 in the first half but were able to come back as Wisconsin, which shot 55% in the first half, dipped to 36% in the second and got sloppy with the ball.
Brice Williams’ two free throws in the final minute of regulation gave Nebraska its first lead at 67-65. Storr’s layup tied it and Mast and Williams missed two shots in the last 20 seconds.
Nebraska capitalized on a run of eight Wisconsin turnovers over eight minutes in the second half to tie it at 52. The Badgers were ahead 63-56 after Klesmit scored 11 points over two minutes.
But Nebraska came back again, got the game to overtime and posted one of its biggest comebacks in program history.
Wisconsin hosts No. 2 Purdue on Sunday.
In a half hour media session, GM Brian Gutekunst talked about the whole gamut of Packers affairs. Yes, he wants to work towards a long-term contract with quarterback Jordan Love, hoping to get to business there in the next couple months.
As for Jaire Alexander? Gutekunst is not thinking about trading the star cornerback. And Aaron Jones is expected to be back at running back. Gutekunst did demure when asked about the future of left tackle David Bakhtiari. As for kicker Anders Carlson? And his ups and downs? The GM said late in the season, heading towards the playoffs, he still felt Carlson was better than any of the free agent options available.
But the biggest takeaway from the media session Wednesday, it was the same as the takeaway from the season as a whole: the Packers have found their quarterback.
“Jordan had a really good season toward the end, especially the second half,” Gutekunst said. “And we are really excited to build around him.”
“He did a really good job leading those guys. And for a young player in his first year, who is trying to figure it all out, to be able to do that was exceptional.”
Gutekunst saw Love’s ascendance coming, though it took until the 2nd half of the season for the world to see it clearly.
“We’ve talked about it in the last couple years, just how much he needed to play,” Gutekunst said. “You have to give Jordan a lot of credit. What he has withstood. As you know, it’s not easy what he went through the last 3 years. He’s got so much more in front of him. As good as he played at times this year, there’s a very, very high upside. There’s usually a progression there where you go from playing, to playing well, to winning. And he did that in pretty short order in season one.”
The Brewers and Orioles struck a deal to send former Cy Young pitcher Corbin Burnes to Baltimore, the team confirmed on X. The deal was initially reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Burnes finished last season with a 3.39 ERA, his highest since 2019, but did reach 200 strikeouts for the third straight year. The right hander was entering the final year of his contract with Milwaukee, and reached a deal to avoid arbitration this offseason. This comes after the Brewers lost manager Craig Counsell to the rival Cubs, traded OF Mark Canha to the Detroit Tigers, and non-tendered right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff.
Milwaukee acquires 25-year-old minor league shortstop Joey Ortiz and 25-year-old left-handed pitching prospect D.L. Hall in exchange for Burnes.
Joey Ortiz is currently 63rd on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2019 MLB draft out of New Mexico State University. Ortiz got a first taste of the MLB last season, recording 34 plate appearances with 7 hits and 9 strikeouts. In the Orioles farm system, he amassed a .286 batting average, hitting 76 doubles, 12 triples, and 33 home runs in 1373 plate appearances, striking out 75 times and walking 62 times. Ortiz has played 2B, 3B, and SS at both the major and minor league levels, not recording any errors in the MLB and only 25 in 2,613 innings in the minors. He tallied 861 infield assists and 371 putouts in that same timespan.
D.L. Hall is a former 1st round pick, going 21st overall in the 2017 draft out of Valdosta High School in Georgia. He went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA and 23 strikeouts with Baltimore last year, racking up 19.1 innings in 18 appearances. In 6 seasons as a part of the Orioles farm system, Hall recorded a 13-22 record in 353.1 innings across 96 games, registering a 3.49 ERA with 499 strikeouts to 204 walks. He averages 95 mph on his fastball, 87 mph on his slider, 84 mph on his changeup, and 80 mph on his curveball.
The Brewers also acquired the 34th pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference and the MLB’s Baseball Savant website.
The Wisconsin Herd, NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, beat the Westchester Knicks 107-100.
Glenn Robinson III powered the Herd with 19 points while Wenyen Gabriel posted a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Marques Bolden added a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Westchester Knicks’ top scorer was Brandon Goodwin with a career-high 44 followed by Jamal Bey with 15 points.
The Herd will play the Westchester Knicks again on Saturday, February 3 at Oshkosh Arena with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. CST.
Meanwhile, the Herd announced Thursday that forward Drew Timme will undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a fracture in his left foot in Friday’s game at Delaware (Jan. 26).
Timme has appeared in 27 games for the Herd this season while averaging 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.8 minutes per game.
The Bucks are back in action Saturday night at Dallas. Milwaukee will be trying to win its first game under new head coach Doc Rivers. Tipoff is at 7:30.
Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium has been named Ballpark Digest’s Ballpark of the Year for 2023, team president and CEO Rob Zerjav announced at the team’s 2024 Hot Stove Banquet on Wednesday night.
The home of the Timber Rattlers is the first Midwest League ballpark to receive the honor, joining Target Field, Truist Park, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, and Las Vegas Ballpark as award winners.
The Timber Rattlers ballpark underwent renovations after the 2022 season, the latest in a series of renovations spanning back to 2022 when Zerjav started as the General Manager. The latest renovations added a 360-degree concourse, new seating on the left-field wall, and a slide in honor of Bernie Brewer’s Slide at American Family Field in Milwaukee. They also added a new premium group area behind home plate, wider concourses, and improvements to handicapped seating.
For the team and players, the renovations aimed to make the facilities some of the best in Minor League Baseball by building a new, 22,000-square-foot home clubhouse from scratch. It features batting cages, a workout facility, meeting and video rooms, and a spacious locker room.
The 2023 season saw the Timber Rattlers attendance grow by 10%, with over 227,000 fans coming to Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
The Timber Rattlers open their 2024 season at home against the Peoria Chiefs on Friday, April 5 at 6:40 p.m. You can find more information on their website.
The future looks bright for the Brewers.
MLB’s Pipeline’s latest top 100 ranking in baseball favors the Brewers in a big way. Four of the Milwaukee Brewer’s players have earned their way into the top 50. Jackson Chourio leads the way for Milwaukee in the No.2 spot. Chourio just inked a new 8-year $82 million dollar deal with Brewers, securing his spot on the 40-man roster. The deal has put him as the frontrunner to be Milwaukee’s Opening Day center fielder. Following him are right-handed pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (No.33), catcher Jefferson Quero (No.36), and infielder Tyler Black (No.46). Black was the highest mover for the Brewers in the updated ranking, moving up 5 spots.
Following career performances over the weekend, Bridget Finnof the Ripon women’s track and field program has been named the Midwest Conference Track Performer of the Week as announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon.
Finn was outstanding for Ripon over the weekend at the Squig Converse Invite + Multi hosted by UW-Whitewater. In Friday’s pentathlon, her 3,004-point performance was a PR, the second-best score in program history and the 24th-best pentathlon score in Division III this season. She also PR’d the 60-meter hurdles in the pentathlon with a time of 9.95 to move up in the top 10, all-time list in the Ripon record books and solidify her score as the third-best in the Midwest Conference this season. A third PR for Finn came in the 800-meter run of the pentathlon (2:30.50), the fifth-fastest time in the MWC this season. Additionally, she was a part of the 4×400 relay that posted the seventh-best time at Ripon and the second-fastest time in the MWC this season (4:13.70).
This is the first career weekly award for Finn and the third honor for Ripon this season after Jacoby Cefalu and Jenny Cortesswept the MWC Track Performer of the Week awards two weeks ago.
Ripon returns to action on Saturday, February 3 as the Red Hawks host the Red Hawk Invite inside the Willmore Center beginning at 10:45 a.m.
Men’s College Basketball (Sat.)
Knox College at Ripon College-Senior Day-Tip off is at 1:00.
UW-Oshkosh at UW-Eau Claire-Tip off is at 5:00.
Women’s College Basketball
Knox College at Ripon College-Senior Day-Tip off is at 3:00.
UW-Eau Claire at UW-Oshkosh-Senior Day-Tip off is at 3:00.
Former Western Michigan coach Tim Lester was hired Wednesday to turn around Iowa’s underperforming offense.
Lester replaces coach Kirk Ferentz’s son, Brian Ferentz, who finished this past season on the staff after athletic director Beth Goetz told him in late October that he wouldn’t return in 2024.
The 46-year-old Lester spent a year as a senior analyst for the Green Bay Packers after Western Michigan fired him in 2022.
Lester was 37-32 in six seasons at WMU, where he was a star quarterback in the late 1990s. He previously was quarterbacks coach at Purdue in 2016 and offensive coordinator at Syracuse in 2014-15. He also has coached at the Divisions II and III levels.
Iowa has had the Big Ten’s least productive offense two straight years and ranked second-to-last in 2021. The system under Brian Ferentz was panned for being outdated and unimaginative. Iowa was one of two teams in the nation with a pass completion rate under 50% this past season. Seven wide receivers have entered the transfer portal over three years.
The Hawkeyes have still managed to win 28 games since 2021, including two 10-win seasons, largely because of a defense that consistently ranks among the nation’s best.
But Iowa has wilted on the biggest stages. Last season the Hawkeyes were shut out 31-0 at Penn State, 26-0 against Michigan in the Big Ten championship game and 35-0 against Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
Lester’s offenses at Syracuse struggled, ranking 13th in the 14-team Atlantic Coast Conference in both 2014 and ’15.
WMU’s offense was ranked in the top 35 nationally in total offense four consecutive seasons (2018-21) under Lester. He was the primary play-caller from 2018-20.
His 2022 WMU offense, coordinated by Jeff Thorne, was worst in the Mid-American Conference at 301 yards and 19 points per game.
Infielder Christian Arroyo agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers that includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Arroyo, 28, hit .241 with a .268 on-base percentage, three homers and 24 RBIs in 66 games for Boston last season. He played primarily second base but also made appearances at shortstop and third base. He also has big-league experience at first base and right field.
Arroyo has a .252 batting average, .299 on-base percentage, 24 homers and 120 RBIs in 295 regular-season games. He has played for San Francisco (2017), Tampa Bay (2018-19), Cleveland (2020) and Boston (2020-23).
The Washington Commanders are hiring Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be their next coach, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Quinn replaces Ron Rivera, who was fired by new owner Josh Harris one day after the season ended. The Commanders hired Adam Peters as general manager Jan. 12. The moves represent the first monumental hires on the football side for Harris, who finalized the purchase of the team in July.
Quinn, 53, served as Dallas’ defensive coordinator the past three seasons. The Cowboys ranked a combined fifth in points and seventh in yards. Under Quinn, the Cowboys led the NFL with 93 forced turnovers.
He had previously served as the At;amta Fa;cpms head coach from 2015 to 2020, taking the Falcons to the Super Bowl after the 2016 season, when they lost to the New England Patriots in overtime — after leading 28-3.
Boys and Girls Schedule 2/1/2024
Boys:
Plymouth78, West Bend East 71
Waupun 76, Berlin 65
New London 78, Green Bay East 39
Xavier 54, West De Pere 47
Menasha 65, Seymour 61
Beaver Dam 65, Watertown 55
Clintonville 61, Marinette 45
Fox Valley Lutheran 69, Wrightstown 57
Freedom 54, Little Chute 47
Waupaca 60. Oconto Falls 35
Central Wisconsin Christian 60, Lourdes Academy 47
Girls:
Winneconne 54, Ripon 48
Waupun 64, Berlin 19
Kettle Moraine Lutheran 65, Kewaskum 25
Menasha 55, Plymouth 54
St. Mary’s Springs 73, Campbellsport 30
Laconia 64, Omro 47
Winnebago Lutheran 60, Mayville 39
Lomira 64, North Fond du Lac 48
Neenah 59, Oshkosh North 42
Freedom 48, Oconto Falls 29
Wautoma 39, Nekoosa 19
Westfield 64, Mauston 25
Wisconsin Dells 57, Adams-Friendship 43
Lourdes Academy at Central Wisconsin Christian
Oakfield 61,Hustisford 6
Valley Christian 65, Dodgeland 48
Pardeeville 61, Cambria-Friesland 22
Randolph 47, Markesan 39
Princeton/Green Lake 73, Montello 42
Fall River 65, Rio 42
Boys and Girls Basketball Schedule 2/2/2024
Boys:
Ripon at Winneconne
Green Bay East at Plymouth
Kettle Moraine Lutheran at Kewaskum
Winnebago Lutheran at Campbellsport
Omro at Lomira
Saint Mary’s Springs at Laconia
North Fond du Lac at Mayville
Hortonville at Appleton East
Oshkosh North at Neenah
Kimberly at Appleton North
Fond du Lac at Oshkosh West
Kaukauna at Appleton West
Adams-Friendship at Metro Schools College Prep
Portage at Wisconsin Dells
Oakfield at Westfield
Pacelli at Nekoosa
Dodgeland at Horicon
Hustisford at Valley Christian
Cambria-Friesland at Princeton/Green Lake
Pardeeville at Randolph
Markesan at Fall River
Rio at Montello
Girls:
Green Bay East at Shawano
West De Pere at Seymour
New London at Xavier
Waunakee at Beaver Dam
Hortonville at Appleton East
Appleton North at Kimberly
Oshkosh West at Fond du Lac
Appleton West at Kaukauna
Clintonville at Oconto Falls
Wrightstown at Marinette
Freedom at Luxemburg-Casco
Denmark at Fox Valley Lutheran
Waupaca at Little Chute
Adams-Friendship at Metro Schools College Prep
Cambria-Friesland at Juda
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