Three-star safety the latest addition to Wisconsin's 2022 recruiting class
Wisconsin beat out former Badgers coach Bret Bielema and Illinois for its latest commit in the 2022 recruiting class.
Safety Austin Brown (Johnston Town, Ill.) announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Instagram early Sunday afternoon.
The three-star recruit chose the Badgers over more than 20 offers. That included the Illini, where Bielema is in his first season as coach. Former Wisconsin safety Aaron Henry, the defensive backs coach at Illinois, played a heavy role in Brown's recruitment but it wasn't enough to beat out the Badgers. Brown also was being pursued by Northwestern, Michigan and Boston College.
Brown is rated as the sixth-best player in the state by the 247Sports Composite. He's also rated as the 28th-best safety in the country and the No. 390 player overall. He also plays quarterback for his high school team.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Brown is the 11th commit in Wisconsin's class and the second-highest rated.
Bucks beat Atlanta, punch ticket to first NBA Finals since 1974
Back in 2013, the first year Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were in Milwaukee, the Bucks won 15 games. Eight years later the team is headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974 after beating Atlanta 118-107 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Saturday night.
"Honestly, it's been a long journey but it's been a great journey," Middleton said. "It’s been worth it. We put ourselves in position to be in the NBA Finals. After winning 15 games in our first year here and seven years not making the playoffs, to the last two years thinking we had a chance and just didn't do enough and now we're here. This is what we've work for."
Playing without Antetokounmpo for a second straight game due to a hyperextended knee, the other members of the team's big three -- Middleton and guard Jrue Holiday -- delivered when necessary. Middleton scored 23 points in the third quarter, including 16 straight at one point, to help the Bucks take a 19-point lead into the final period. It was tied for the third-most points in a single quarter of a playoff game in the last 25 years.
"Khris carried us there for a lot of it, just leaving his heart out there," Holiday said. "Just kind of like if we're going to go down, we're going to go down on his shoulders. I'm riding with him, riding right into the Finals."
The Hawks didn't go away, though, eventually chipping the lead down to six before Holiday hit an acrobatic layup and later delivered an alley-oop to Brook Lopez to push the lead back to 10.
Middleton finished with 32 points, four rebounds and seven assists, while Holiday put up just as impressive of a final stat line with 27 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and four steals. Both are now headed to the finals for the first time in their careers.
"It's cool to think that as a little kid, this is what you watch the playoffs for," Holiday said. "This is all the moments that I felt as a little kid watching TV, I lived them and went through them and now I get to go to the Finals and see what this is about.
"Again, man I'm just -- I'm ecstatic."
Brook Lopez didn't have a huge night scoring -- 13 points compared to the 33 he put up in Game 5 -- but he had six rebounds and three blocks. The team was 25 points better than Atlanta with him on the court. PJ Tucker delivered a late 3-pointer that proved to be the dagger and Bobby Portis had 12 points and nine rebounds in his second start for Antetokounmpo.
The bench once again gave Milwaukee a lift, as Pat Connaughton had 13 points and Jeff Teague had 11. Teague had scored a total of seven points in the first five games of the series and had just 12 points the entire playoffs before Saturday night.
"In my opinion one of the biggest things that we did the last two games was play for him," Connaughton said about Antetokounmpo.
"We know all that he gives, his body, time, energy, effort, blood, sweat, tears. So to be out there to kind of have his back and hold down the fort while he's coming back from injury, I think shows the character of the team, the character of the organization and that we do have a true team."
The Hawks got Trae Young back after he had missed the last two games with a foot injury, but he wasn't the same player he had been early in the series. He scored 14 points and had nine assists but was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Cam Reddish led Atlanta in scoring with 21 points off the bench. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 for the Hawks.
Milwaukee now advances to the finals to face Phoenix, which won both regular season games between the two teams.
The Suns, led by Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, dispatched the Los Angeles Clippers in six games to win the Western Conference.
"Nope," Tucker replied when asked if there was any kind of champagne celebration in the locker room. "We ain't did nothing yet."
Game 1 comes Tuesday in Phoenix.
Social media reaction to Bucks win Eastern Conference, punching ticket to NBA Finals
The Milwaukee Bucks are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974. They got there with a 118-107 win over Atlanta in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night.
As you'd imagine, social media was on fire as the Bucks won the East for the first time ever and punched their ticket to the finals.
Here's some of the best reaction from some familiar names and some not so familiar:
https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1411519250221654016
https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12/status/1411518809031073797
https://twitter.com/Melvingordon25/status/1411520760972201984
https://twitter.com/TheSchoGoesOn53/status/1411518973343014917
https://twitter.com/LilySZhao/status/1411529031804198916
https://twitter.com/alysaz23/status/1411509351102156812
https://twitter.com/SamKraemerTV/status/1411524358846267396
https://twitter.com/Stoltzy3/status/1411523178887716874
https://twitter.com/RyanWingFOX11/status/1411522573779849223
https://twitter.com/Zarathak23/status/1411528869476245508
https://twitter.com/mdesisti/status/1411522282279821316
https://twitter.com/ebosays/status/1411520581296701440
https://twitter.com/jennylynnfisch/status/1411520016500068354
https://twitter.com/JRRadcliffe/status/1411519454622752777
https://twitter.com/dekker/status/1411519357176487939
https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/1411519158936866818
https://twitter.com/WesHod/status/1411518891344470016
https://twitter.com/JJWatt/status/1411518336509222912
Milwaukee runs its winning streak to 11 with victory at Pittsburgh
Milwaukee has its second-longest winning streak in team history after an 11-2 win Saturday in Pittsburgh.
The Brewers jumped on Pirates starter Cody Ponce early, scoring five runs off of him in the first two innings. Avisail Garcia drove in three of the runs, while Jace Peterson and Omar Narvaez had the other RBI.
That trio was just getting started. Narvaez finished with five hits, just the second time in franchise history a catcher posted a five-hit game. Garcia racked up four hits and five RBI, while Peterson had two hits and four RBI.
Not that Milwaukee needed it on a huge offensive day, but Eric Lauer delivered a standout effort on the mound. He ended up going 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four to improve to 3-3 on the season.
The Brewers have now won 11 straight, two games short of the franchise record set in April of 1987. It's given them an eight-game lead on Cincinnati in the NL Central. They'll try to finish off a sweep of the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.
Bucks move to within a game of NBA Finals with Game 5 win over Atlanta
Milwaukee got career nights from Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis to beat Atlanta in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals 123-112 Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.
Playing without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a hyperextended knee, Lopez scored a game-high 33 points, while Portis dropped in 22 points to help the Bucks take a 3-2 series lead. Both were playoff career-highs and more than complimented Khris Middleton's 26 points and Jrue Holiday's 25.
https://twitter.com/StatsBySTATS/status/1410803046502879232
After coming out flat in Game 4 in Atlanta on Tuesday, Milwaukee came out flying in front of the home fans. Holiday scored seven points in the first few minutes to give the Bucks a 10-2 lead, forcing a Hawks timeout. The lead ballooned to 20 late in the quarter on a dunk by Lopez that left the crowd in a frenzy.
Atlanta never truly went away, though. It was a 14-point game at the end of the first, a 9-point game at half and it was still within shouting distance at 13 going into the final quarter. Coach Nate McMillian didn't pull the starters until there were 52.9 seconds left and the Bucks leading by 12.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1410763588935897091
Chants of "Bucks in six" and "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby" rained down from a capacity crowd as the Bucks moved to within one game of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974.
https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1410808196311269376
Middleton and Holiday also exited to loud cheers in the final minute as they stepped up without Giannis on the floor. In addition to the scoring, Middleton grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and had eight assists, while Holiday had 13 assists and six rebounds.
The Hawks played without star guard Trae Young for a second straight game due to a deep bone bruise in his foot that he suffered in Game 3. In his absence, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, while Danilo Gallinari had 19 points off the bench.
The series now shifts to Atlanta for Game 6 on Saturday night.
Brewers make it 9 straight wins with 7-2 victory at Pittsburgh
Milwaukee has won a season-high nine games in a row after a 7-2 victory at Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Corbin Burnes made it to the eighth inning before having to leave with an apparent injury. He said afterward that his knee jammed up on him when his cleat slipped, but he doesn't think he'll miss time as a result.
Burnes allowed just a Ben Gamel home run on four hits and struck out five to even his record at 4-4 on the year. It was the third time in his last five starts that he allowed one run or fewer as his ERA dropped to 2.41.
Jace Peterson got the scoring going for Milwaukee in the second with an RBI triple. That was followed up by a Jackie Bradley Jr. double to make it 2-0. The game was still tight in the sixth inning when Keston Hiura and Daniel Robertson drove in runs to give Milwaukee a 4-1 lead. They padded that further in the ninth with a run-scoring double from Omar Narvaez and a two-run single from Tyrone Taylor.
https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/1410746919186579461
The Brewers' nine-game winning streak matches their longest since 2003 when they won 10 in a row. They'll look to match that Friday night against the Pirates again.
Brewers erase 7-run deficit, beat Chicago 15-7 to complete series sweep
Milwaukee turned a 7-0 deficit into a 15-7 win Wednesday afternoon against Chicago at American Family Field.
One of the club's top prospects, Aaron Ashby, got the start for the Brewers and didn't make it out of the first inning. He allowed seven runs -- four earned -- and managed to record just two outs while walking three. It was a forgettable debut for Ashby, who was just called up Wednesday morning.
But a game that seemed lost before Milwaukee even took its first swings at the plate was anything but. The Brewers offense chased Cubs starter Jake Arrieta after just 1 2/3 innings, tagging him with six runs -- three earned -- to cut the game to 7-6 after two.
It stayed that way until the fourth inning when Milwaukee exploded for eight runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Willy Adames. It was the first of the year for the Crew, who tacked on another run in the sixth when Luis Urias hit his second home run of the game.
Urias finished with four RBI, while Adames also had four and Jace Peterson finished with three.
After Ashby left, relievers Miguel Sanchez, Trevor Richards, Hunter Strickland, Jake Cousins and Brent Suter combined for 8 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball to give the Brewers a three-game sweep of the Cubs.
Overall, it was Milwaukee's season-best eighth-straight win and it left the Brewers with a six-game lead in the NL Central on Chicago. The club will now hit the road for seven games starting Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Report: Giannis suffered no structural damage to knee, Bucks list him as doubtful for Game 5
It would appear that Giannis Antetokounmpo has avoided a serious knee injury.
The Milwaukee Bucks star went down awkwardly in the third quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday night and grabbed his left knee in pain. He was eventually able to walk off the floor but did not return to the game. After additional testing done Wednesday, ESPN is reporting that there is no structural damage to the knee.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1410330506487492612
The team announced during the game that Antetokounmpo had suffered a hyperextended knee and issued a statement Wednesday that confirmed the diagnosis.
Milwaukee and Atlanta are tied 2-2 in the series with Game 5 set for Thursday night at Fiserv Forum. The team listed Antetokounmpo as doubtful for the game.
Wisconsin adds commitment from 3-star WR
https://twitter.com/BadgerFootball/status/1471100251700445184
Wisconsin has picked up another commitment for its 2022 recruiting class.
Wide receiver Vinny Anthony II (Louisville, Ky.) announced his commitment to the Badgers Wednesday morning.
https://twitter.com/VinnyAnthony1/status/1410275663140081665
A three-star recruit, Anthony held 13 offers and ended up choosing Wisconsin over his other finalists of his hometown school, Louisville, and Duke.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Anthony is the eighth-best player in the state of Kentucky and the No. 101 wide receiver in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the second wide receiver in Wisconsin's class, joining Tommy McIntosh (DeWitt, Mich.).
Wisconsin now has 10 commits in the 2022 class, including nine in the last 12 days.
Brewers make it 7 straight wins with 2-1 win against Chicago
Milwaukee got barely any offense but it didn't matter Tuesday night in a 2-1 win over Chicago.
Brandon Woodruff put together another very good outing for the Brewers, going six innings and allowing just one run on four hits. He struck out eight and walked three as his ERA dropped to 1.87 on the season, the third-best mark in all of baseball.
The bullpen backed him up, with Brent Suter, Jake Cousins, Brad Boxberger and Josh Hader combining for three scoreless innings. Hader found some trouble in the ninth inning but recovered to pick up the save, his 20th in 20 opportunities.
A night after scoring 14 runs, Milwaukee's offense consisted of an RBI double from Christian Yelich in the first inning and a Jace Peterson single in the fourth inning. Those were the Brewers only two hits in the game.
The seventh straight win improved Milwaukee's record to a season-best 14 games above .500 and left the club five games up on Chicago in the NL Central.
The Brewers will go for the sweep of the Cubs Wednesday afternoon.
