PODCAST: Luck or Skill
Bucks Take an L (0:00)
MLB Frustrations (12:33)
Brady/Rodgers Luck (25:06)
Matt LaFleur on Tamp Bay (31:19)
Late Kevin Durant 3-pointer pushes Brooklyn past the Bucks
In a matchup of the two favorites to win the Eastern Conference it was the Brooklyn Nets topping the Milwaukee Bucks 125-123 Monday night.
The game came down to the wire as the Bucks overcame a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. They led 123-122 with under a minute to play when the Nets' new addition, James Harden, pulled up from beyond the arc. His shot didn’t fall but he grabbed the offensive rebound and found Kevin Durant for a wide-open 3-pointer, which he didn’t miss.
Milwaukee had two chances to hit the game-tying or game-winning shot in the final 29.2 seconds but Khris Middleton couldn’t find the bottom of the net with either of his attempts, dropping the Bucks to 9-5 on the year. It was just their second loss in the month of January.
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo played 40 of the 48 minutes, scoring 34 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out seven assists. Middleton had 25 points, while guard Jrue Holiday added 22 points and six assists.
The Nets were paced by Harden’s 34 points and 12 assists. Durant added 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Monday’s meeting is the only one between the two teams in the first half of the season, which runs until March 4. The schedule for the second half has not been released.
Milwaukee’s schedule doesn’t get any easier going forward. The Bucks will come home to face the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Wisconsin moves down in latest AP Top 25
Wisconsin’s blowout loss to Michigan didn’t hurt it too bad in the latest AP Top 25.
The poll released Monday showed the Badgers at No. 10 in the country, down just one spot from last week. That’s despite a 23-point loss at Michigan, though UW did rebound with a nice road win at Rutgers on Friday.
Wisconsin is one six Big Ten teams in the poll. Iowa is still ranked the highest at No. 4, up one from last week. The Wolverines, which followed up its dominating win over the Badgers by losing its first game of the season at Minnesota, stayed at No. 7. Ohio State and the Gophers both jumped six spots, going to No. 15 and No. 17, respectively. Illinois is the final Big Ten team in the poll at No. 23, down eight places from last week.
Unbeaten Gonzaga remains No. 1 in the poll, with 12-0 Baylor at No. 2 and Villanova at No. 3.
Meanwhile, in the NET Rankings, an important tool used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, Wisconsin is sitting at No. 15. Three Big Ten teams — Iowa (No. 3), Michigan (No. 5) and Illinois (No. 9) — are ahead of the Badgers.
Wisconsin will play a pair of home games this week, with Northwestern coming to the Kohl Center on Wednesday and the Buckeyes visiting on Saturday.
PODCAST: Winner Winner
Packers Win, Rams Lose (0:00)
Wisconsin Football/Basketball Update (18:07)
Packers Rise to the Occasion (34:29)
Packers Insider Rob Reischel (49:40)
Packers will face Tampa Bay in NFC title game
The Green Bay Packers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday at Lambeau Field with a trip to Super Bowl LV on the line.
A day after the Packers advanced with a win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Buccaneers punched their ticket to the NFC title game with a 30-20 win at New Orleans on Sunday night.
It will be the second matchup between the two teams this season and the Packers have to be hoping they’ll put together a better effort. Green Bay jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the Week 6 game but interceptions on back-to-back drives, including one that was taken back for a touchdown, jump started what turned into a 38-10 rout.
The game was by far the worst performance of the season for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His two interceptions accounted for 20% of his total for the year and his passer rating of 35.4 was the second-worst of his career in a game he started and finished.
It was a bad day all around for the offense, with Green Bay’s offensive line, a dominant unit for much of the season, giving up five sacks and allowing Rodgers to be hit a season-high 13 times.
On the other side, quarterback Tom Brady threw for 166 yards and two scores, while running back Ronald Jones had 113 yards of Tampa Bay’s 158 on the ground. He also scored twice.
https://twitter.com/JRRadcliffe/status/1351002215377473537
Green Bay is in the title game for a fifth time since Rodgers took over as the starter in 2008. The Packers won the first one in 2010, beating Chicago on the road and going on to win Super Bowl XLV. The other three -- 2014, 2016, 2019 -- did not end in Green Bay's favor, including last year's blowout loss at San Francisco. But this will be the first time in Rodgers' starting career that the game will be played at Lambeau Field where the Packers are 8-1 this season.
This will be just the second time the Packers and Buccaneers have met in the playoffs. The last meeting came in 1998 with Green Bay winning 21-7 on its way to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXII.
Kick on Sunday is set for 2:05 p.m.
Wisconsin CB announces he's returning for 6th season
Wisconsin is getting another starter back for its 2021 defense.
Cornerback Caesar Williams announced Sunday he planned to take advantage of a waiver from the NCAA due to the pandemic and return for a sixth season. It gives the Badgers eight starters back on that side of the ball.
https://twitter.com/Caesar_Austin/status/1350961433627000835
Williams started all seven games for Wisconsin this season, finishing with 18 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups. The Texas product was part of a unit that finished fourth in the Big Ten in passing defense in 2020.
The 6-foot, 188-pound Williams is the fifth known senior that will return in 2021, joining wide receiver Kendric Pryor, safety Collin Wilder, outside linebacker Noah Burks and inside linebacker Mike Maskalunas.
https://twitter.com/Caesar_Austin/status/1350971844116045827
The one big name that has yet to announce his intentions is wide receiver Danny Davis. Wisconsin’s top target on the outside played in just two games due to injury.
Wide receiver Jack Dunn had also indicated he was interested in returning but there has been nothing official from him. Players have until March 1 to decide.
Badgers earn 4-0 win over Arizona State
The Wisconsin hockey team is back above .500 on the season.
The Badgers got there with a 4-0 win over Arizona State on Saturday in the first game of two this weekend between the clubs.
Wisconsin jumped all over the Sun Devils in the first period, netting three goals. Foward Jack Gorniak got things going just 2:37 into the game with his fourth goal of the year. That was followed less than five minutes later by defenseman Josh Ess slotting one home, his second on the season. Forward Ty Pelton-Byce capped the scoring in the period with his second goal this year.
In the second period, defenseman Tyler Inamoto scored Wisconsin’s final goal of the afternoon, his first of the campaign.
All the goals more than stood up thanks to a largely inept Arizona State offense. The Sun Devils only had 11 shots all game and goalie Cameron Rowe was rarely under much pressure. The shutout was just the second for the Badgers this year.
The win improved Wisconsin’s record to 7-6 and the Badgers will go for the two-game sweep on Sunday.
Packers 32, Rams 18: 2-minute drill
The Green Bay Packers will host the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2007 after eliminating the Los Angeles Rams with a 32-18 win on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
Game Balls
Offense: The offensive line
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers called his offensive line the stars of the game and it’s impossible to disagree. Going up against one of the best defensive fronts in football, the Packers owned the line of scrimmage.
The Rams came into the playoffs having not allowed any team to run for more than 136 yards in a game this year. The Packers put up 188 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. No offense had gained more than 390 yards against LA this season but Green Bay put up 484 yards. Then there is the fact that one of the saltiest defenses in getting after the quarterback, ranking second in sacks this year, hit Rodgers just once and he wasn’t sacked.
While it must be acknowledged that All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald was not 100%, that shouldn’t take anything away from Green Bay’s dominance in the trenches.
Defense: Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark
It was somewhat of a hit or miss game for the defense as the Rams alternated punting or scoring on their first six possessions. But when the Packers needed a stop defensively, they got it.
Up by seven in the fourth quarter, Clark came through with a huge sack that eventually forced a punt. And then, after Green Bay made it a two-score game, Gary came up with the game-clinching sack on fourth down.
The duo combined for three sacks, two tackles for loss and five quarterback hits.
As a defense, the Packers held the Rams to just 2-for-8 on third down and 244 total yards.
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In Case You Missed It
— Linebacker Krys Barnes suffered a hand injury in the first half. He returned but had to wear a big cast on his left hand. The rookie ended up leading the Packers with 10 tackles.
— Kicker Mason Crosby suffered what appeared to be a shoulder injury in the second quarter while running with the ball after a botched snap on an extra point. Crosby was late coming out of the locker room after halftime but he was able to stay in the game.
-- Running back AJ Dillon left the game in the second quarter with what was being called a quad injury. He did not return.
— Marquez Valdes-Scantling stat line won’t blow you away but he had one of the biggest plays of the game. It came on third-and-3 and the Packers leading 25-18 in the fourth quarter. Rodgers threw a little behind him on a wide receiver screen. He made one guy miss and dove ahead for a first down. Two plays later the Packers hit on a long touchdown pass for what proved to be the knockout punch.
https://twitter.com/jgroc/status/1350597378202603524?s=20
— That punch came courtesy of Rodgers to Allen Lazard on a 58-yard score. Lazard had a chance for a big play in the third quarter but just couldn't hold on. However, Rodgers' trust in all of his skill players this year has been a strength of the offense and he was more than willing to give Lazard another chance, which he paid him back for. Lazard finished with 96 yards on four catches.
https://twitter.com/packers/status/1350597988096364548?s=20
-- Aaron Jones had 99 yards on 14 carries. His 60-yard run to open the second half led to a 1-yard touchdown run for himself.
https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1350582183581376516?s=20
-- For the first time this year the Packers sold tickets to the general public. The announced attendance was 8,456, but many of the players said it felt like there were a lot more in Lambeau Field than that. Several also mentioned the possibility of having more during next week’s NFC title game.
Inside the Numbers
5 — That’s how many NFC title games the Packers will have played in over the last 11 seasons when they take the field next week. It will be the first at home since Rodgers took over as the starting quarterback in 2008.
66 -- That's how many yards receiving Davante Adams had. It moved him past Antonio Freeman for the most postseason receiving yards in team history.
296 -- That's how many yards Rodgers had throwing in the game. It moved him past Brett Favre for the most postseason passing yards in team history.
https://twitter.com/SethWalder/status/1350603865968795648
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What’s Next
Green Bay (14-3) will face either New Orleans or Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday at Lambeau Field with kick coming at 2:05 p.m.
(9) Wisconsin 60, Rutgers 54: Last word
No. 9 Wisconsin bounced back from an ugly loss at Michigan by using a late second-half surge to push its way past Rutgers 60-54 on Friday night in New Jersey.
Player of the Game: D’Mitrik Trice
Trice didn’t have a huge game scoring — he finished 13 points — but it’s when those points came that mattered. With Wisconsin trailing 44-42 with 8:42 left, the Badgers went on a 12-0 run. The senior point guard scored eight straight in the run and assisted on another one of the baskets. Wisconsin was able to use that spurt to give them enough offense to get by a pesky Rutgers team.
https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1350290026261737476
The good: Aleem Ford
Ford was aggressive on both ends of the floor. He ended up tied for the most points with 14, but also contributed six rebounds, two steals and a career-high four blocks. Ford got the main defensive assignment on Rutgers leading scorer, Ron Harper Jr. Though there was plenty of switching, Ford led an effort that held Harper to just 4 points on 2-for-13 shooting. It was his worst offensive output of the season.
The not so good: Rebounding
Rutgers owned the boards at both ends of the court. The Scarlet Knights out-rebounded Wisconsin by 15 (50-35) overall and 20 of their boards came on the offensive end. It was the most offensive rebounds the Badgers have given up in a regulation game in seven years. Rutgers turned that into 13 second-chance points.
Stat of the Game: 10
That’s how many steals Wisconsin had in the game, which helped in its 17 fast break points. The 10 steals are tied for the most by the Badgers in a Big Ten game in at least the last 10 seasons.
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In Case You Missed It
-- For the first time since his freshman year, Nate Reuvers was not in the starting lineup. Instead, coach Greg Gard went with Tyler Wahl, who made his fourth career start. Gard explained afterwards that they needed more mobility on defense, which is what Wahl gave them.
— Brad Davison tied for the team-high with 14 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Wisconsin is now 8-0 when Davison hits at least two 3-pointers in a game. The senior was 3-for-9 from beyond the arc on Friday.
— Wisconsin shot just 35.2% from the field. It’s the lowest shooting percentage in a win for Wisconsin since hitting 34.5% against Minnesota in a Feb. 2019 victory.
What’s next?
Wisconsin (11-3, 5-2) will come home to face Northwestern (6-5, 3-4) on Wednesday at the Kohl Center.
Bucks survive shaky free-throw shooting to edge Mavs 112-109
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Khris Middleton made a couple of huge 3-pointers and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame poor free-throw shooting to snap the Dallas Mavericks’ four-game winning streak.
Middleton scored eight points of his 25 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the Bucks’ 112-109 victory Friday night. Middleton took over after James Johnson’s corner 3-pointer with 3:09 left put Dallas ahead 104-103 — the Mavericks’ first lead since the opening five minutes.
“He’s just a great decision-maker,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He knows to take what the defense gives him. If he’s got a shot, he’s an incredible shot-maker, but he’s an incredible playmaker. ... He’s just a great finisher.”
Middleton’s 3-pointer put the Bucks ahead for good at 106-105 with 2:21 left. Middleton hit another 3-pointer 34 seconds later to make it 109-105. He also hit a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining to finish with 25 points.
Those free throws were particularly noteworthy on a night when nobody could connect consistently from the foul line.
The Bucks were 12 of 25 on free throws, with Giannis Antetokounmpo going 1 of 10 and missing all seven of his fourth-quarter attempts. Dallas was 6 of 13.
“He’s just got to keep working through the free-throw line, continue to put the time in, grow his confidence and step up and make them,” Budenholzer said.
Antetokounmpo still scored 31 points as the Bucks won their fourth straight. Luka Doncic had 28 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, which also got 22 points from Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Mavericks entered the night having won 11 of the last 14 regular-season meetings with the Bucks. Dallas also swept two preseason matchups in Milwaukee last month.
Milwaukee went 0-2 against Dallas and 56-15 against the rest of the NBA during the 2019-20 regular season.
Dallas had chances to win this one late as well after trailing by as many as 14 early, but Trey Burke and Kristaps Porzingis missed potential go-ahead 3-point shots in the final 21 seconds.
Doncic appeared to want a timeout to be called once Dallas got the offensive rebound off Burke’s miss. The Mavs instead worked the ball to Porzingis, who missed with 10.4 seconds left.
“It’s very difficult to call a timeout and go against a Milwaukee set defense out of the timeout,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Carlisle added that he thought the Mavericks got two good shots.
“It’s Coach’s decision,” Doncic said. “If we would have made the shot, everything would have been good.”
Jrue Holiday scored 16 points, and Lopez had 11 for the Bucks, with Bobby Portis adding eight points and 13 rebounds. Dallas got 15 points from Porzingis, 13 each from Burke and Johnson, as well as 11 from William Cauley-Stein.
