'Sconnie Six Pack 12/1
The Packers may be getting a key contributor back on offense, the College Football Playoff is expanding, and more!
Table of contents:
Giannis fouls out, but late-game heroics allow Bucks hang on and defeat Knicks
Five Wisconsin Badgers receive all-conference honors for the 2022 football season
The Packers may be getting a contributor on offense back from injury
Topping-off the six pack: College Football Playoff will expand in 2024
Giannis fouls out, but late-game heroics allow Bucks hang on and defeat Knicks
The Milwaukee Bucks (15-5) held only a three point lead going into the fourth quarter, but a late three-pointer by Grayson Allen was enough to put away the New York Knicks (10-12) by a score of 109-103.
Both teams’ offenses struggled throughout the night. Milwaukee shot just 43.3% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. New York fared even worse with 42.0% shooting from the field, 20.0% from three-point range, and 65.0% from the free throw line. Milwaukee, which records the most rebounds per game in the NBA, was barely outrebounded on the night 55-52, as New York is one of the few teams that can challenge the Bucks on the glass. The Knicks grab the third-most rebounds per game in the league.
Despite Milwaukee’s offensive struggles, Giannis shined recording 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. He did, however, foul out of the game with just under a minute remaining. When Giannis fouled out, the Bucks led 103-101. A pair of Knicks free throws tied the game at 103 before Grayson Allen made a three-pointer, his first of the night, to give the Bucks a 106-103 lead with 30.9 seconds remaining. New York would not score again and Milwaukee held on to win.
Milwaukee next plays tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Lakers and Khris Middleton may be making his season debut. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported yesterday that Middleton is close to making his return to the Bucks’ lineup and that it could come as soon as tomorrow. Middleton, an NBA all-star, has not played since the first round of last season’s playoffs. Despite missing its second-best player, Milwaukee is second-place in the Eastern Conference standings just two games behind the Boston Celtics.
Asked about Middleton’s status following the report by Charania yesterday, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said “to say he’s close is accurate and I’ll just leave it at that. Close can mean anything.”
EDITED TO ADD BECAUSE OF COURSE WOJ TWEETED THIS THREE MINUTES AFTER I PUBLISHED TODAY:
KHRIS. MIDDLETON. IS. BACK.
Five Wisconsin Badgers receive all-conference honors for the 2022 football season
Following Tuesday’s announcement by the Big Ten of the all-conference defensive and special teams teams, the B1G announced its all-conference offensive awards yesterday. Five Badgers were given all-conference honors. The honorees include:
Running back Braelon Allen was a consensus-pick (coaches and media) to the Big Ten’s second-team all-offensive team
Three Wisconsin offensive lineman, Joe Tippmann, Jack Nelson, and Tanor Bortolini, were consensus-picks as all-Big Ten honorable mention selections.
Wide receiver Chimere Dike was an honorable mention selection by the media.
Allen received his second all-Big Ten selection in as many seasons.
Safety John Torchio was also named as a Big Ten Sportsmanship award honoree.
The Packers may be getting a contributor on offense back from injury
The Packers injury woes have been a major detriment to Green Bay’s playoff hopes throughout this season. Injuries at key offensive positions including running back, quarterback, and wide receiver have contributed to a fit of stops and starts for the offense. Coming out of practice yesterday, however, Green Bay looks as healthy at the wide receiver position as they have all year.
Rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs was a limited participant in practice yesterday. It was the first time Doubs has practiced since suffering an ankle injury during the Packers’ game on November 6th at Detroit. Barring any other injuries in the wide receiver room, Doubs’ return would put the position at full-strength for Green Bay.
With injuries to both Doubs and Christian Watson throughout this season, Green Bay has not seen much of their two rookie wide receivers on the field together. The first half against the New York Giants is the most time Packers fans have seen Doubs and Watson on the field together.
Four Badgers selected to all-Big Ten volleyball teams; one of Wisconsin’s key contributors is snubbed
Four members of the Wisconsin volleyball team were selected to the all-Big Ten teams following the conclusion of the regular season. One Badger, however, was not named to the all-conference teams despite being a key contributor for the team that went 19-1 in conference.
Senior Danielle Hart, junior Devyn Robinson, and redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin were each unanimously selected to the all-Big Ten first team. Julia Orzol was selected to the second-team. A few notes on each honoree:
Hart earned second-team honors in 2019 and 2020 (she was sidelined due to injury in the 2021 season). She leads the Badgers in hitting percentage - good for second in the Big Ten overall.
This is Robinson’s second season earning first-team honors. She was selected to the all-Big Ten first-team in 2020 and second-team in 2021.
Sarah Franklin, who transferred to Wisconsin this season from Michigan State, earned her second-straight first-team honor. Franklin leads the Badgers in kills per set.
Orzol was the 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the year.
Notably, Wisconsin’s libero Gulce Guctekin was not selected to the first, second or all-freshman teams. Guctekin, the anchor of the Badgers’ defense, earned three conference Freshman of the Week and two Defensive Player of the week awards. Wisconsin’s stout defense was a huge reason for its success as it held opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in the Big Ten.
Badgers head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the media and coaches. Sheffield was the consensus-pick for coach of the year in 2014. Sheffield’s last coach of the year award came via selection by the media in 2019.
Senior Anna McDonald was Wisconsin’s honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Checking-in on Wisconsin women’s basketball: former leading scorer for the Badgers set to make her season debut
Wisconsin’s women’s basketball team has achieved a record of 3-5 after an up and down start to its season. Following a season-opening win over UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin was tied with Kansas State heading into the fourth quarter at the Brew City Battle (a pair of basketball games featuring the Wisconsin men’s and women’s basketball teams at American Family Field). Kansas State, which is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll, managed a 14-point victory over the Badgers.
Wisconsin also lost its first player off the bench and team captain Halle Douglass for the season after she sustained an injury in the Badgers’ November 21st loss to Illinois State.
Now, some positive injury news is on the way.
Wisconsin announced on February 3rd of this year that Sydney Hilliard would be taking a leave of absence from the team to attend to a personal matter. She has not yet played in a game this season for Wisconsin, but per screenshots from her instagram story, she may be making her debut tonight. Hilliard has been an integral part of the Badgers’ scoring efforts since arriving on campus. She recorded the third-most points per game on the team her freshman season, led the team in scoring her sophomore season, and ranked second in points per game her junior season.
Wisconsin plays Florida State (7-1) tonight in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. You can watch tonight’s game at 6:30PM on BTN+.
Topping-off the six pack: College Football Playoff will expand in 2024
Almost immediately following the creation of the College Football Playoff, conversation has surrounded when, not if, the CFP would expand its four-team format. Today, the inevitable has become official. The CFP is expanding to a 12-team tournament.
The CFP announced an agreement reached by its Board of Managers today that will allow the playoff to expand beginning with the 2024 college football season. Following the conclusion of this season’s event, there will only be one more edition of the four-team playoff.
The 12-team playoff will feature first-round matchups played either at the home field of the higher-seeded team or another site chosen by the higher-seeded team. Quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at the sites of the traditional New Year’s Six bowls - the Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Cotton, Sugar, and Rose Bowls - with each game rotating between the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on a regular basis. The national championship game will be played at a variety of neutral-site locations as it has been in the CFP era.
Although it was not mentioned in today’s announcement, the CFP had previously approved a format for a 12-team playoff in which the six top-ranked conference champions automatically qualified to the tournament with six at-large selections. The four highest-ranked conference champions would receive first-round byes.
On, Wisconsin.
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