'Sconnie Six Pack 12/13/2022
The Milwaukee Bucks play the Golden State Warriors, the Brewers pull off a heist, Wisconsin hockey news from the weekend, and the latest in Wisconsin football recruiting
What’s brewing?
Milwaukee bucks play the Golden State Warriors tonight - Khris Middleton probable
Milwaukee Brewers pull off a three-way trade for William Contreras
#2 Wisconsin women's hockey sweeps Minnesota State
Wisconsin men's hockey swept by #3 Minnesota
Wisconsin football adds two former Cincinnati recruits to its 2023 class
Topping off the six-pack: Badgers return to UW from transfer portal
Milwaukee Bucks play the Golden State Warriors tonight - Khris Middleton probable
Following the Milwaukee Bucks' surprising loss to the Houston Rockets, Giannis Antetokounmpo and company face the reigning NBA champions. Milwaukee (19-7) and the Golden State Warriors (14-13) tip-off tonight at 6:30 PM CST. You can watch tonight's nationally televised game on TNT.
Khris Middleton's injury woes continue - or not?
More concerning than the Bucks' loss to the Rockets was Khris Middleton's exit from the lineup with an ankle injury on Sunday night. The small forward suffered an ankle injury during the first quarter and exited the game early in the second quarter.
Middleton's official status for tonight's game is probable with a left ankle injury. Sunday's game was Middleton's fifth of the season after missing time to rehab from off-season wrist surgery.
Asked after the game about his all-star's injury, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said, "he should be fine. It's a couple of very minor things. Hopefully, he'll be fine."
Steph is surging - Klay is slumping
At 34 years old, Steph Curry is having as good of a season as he ever has in the NBA. Averaging 30 points, the Warriors' all-star point guard is fourth in the league in points per game. Curry is shooting above his career averages from the field and beyond the three-point arc.
The other half of The Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, is not having the same success this season. The shooting guard is shooting five percent below his career average from the field and nearly three percent below his average from beyond the three-point line. As a 41.5% three-point shooter for his career, Thompson is known for his catch-and-shoot ability. Despite his reputation, he has shot a combined 20 of 57 (35.1%) in the Warriors' last six games.
The matchup
Highlighted by two of the highest-scoring players in the NBA, Giannis and Curry, the Bucks and Warriors is a matchup between a great defensive and a great offensive team. Milwaukee has the second-best scoring defense in the league, but Golden State scores the third-most points per game. Mike Budenholzer's squad will have its hands full against one of the best shooting teams in the NBA.
Milwaukee Brewers pull off a three-way trade for William Contreras
It took a couple of months, but Matt Arnold made his first seismic move as the Brewers' General Manager since taking over for David Stearns.
In a three-team trade involving the Atlanta Braves and the Oakland A's, the Brewers obtained right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps (Oakland), RHP Justin Yeager (Atlanta), and catcher William Contreras (Atlanta). Contreras was an all-star selection this season.
In return, the Brewers sent outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz, who Milwaukee obtained in the trade that sent closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres, to Oakland.
Contreras provides an immediate impact for the Brewers
Conteras provides Milwaukee's offense with a significant infusion of talent. The catcher, who will turn 25 years old in 12 days, would have ranked first or second in numerous offensive statistics on the Brewers this year. He would have been the Brewers' leader in on-base percentage, slugging, runs created, and more.
Beyond his offensive production, Arnold also obtained the young catcher's still club-friendly contract. Contreras has two more seasons before he becomes arbitration-eligible and is under club control for the next five seasons.
Milwaukee obtains two relief pitchers
The major league pitcher the Brewers obtained in the trade, Payamps, pitched 55.2 innings between Oakland and the Kansas City Royals in 2022. A 3.23 ERA pitcher last season, Payamps will likely be a contributor in Milwaukee's bullpen.
Yaeger is a right-handed relief pitcher prospect who spent time in High-A and AA this season.
#2 Wisconsin women's hockey sweeps Minnesota State
After winning its opening game on Friday afternoon, Wisconsin (15-2-1, 12-1-1 WCHA) completed its sweep of the Minnesota State Mavericks (7-11-0, 5-11-0 WCHA) on Saturday. The Badgers won by a score of 5-1.
Britta Curl continues her scoring streak
Badgers redshirt senior Britta Curl scored twice in the first period to give Wisconsin a lead it would not give up. Curl's second goal of the period game just minutes after Minnesota State tied the game 1-1 with a power play goal. The left-winger received a pass in the slot from graduate student Sophie Shirley and put a shot on goal. Curl put her rebound away to give Wisconsin a 2-1 lead.
Curl's two goals added to her recent hot streak, notching seven goals in her previous four games. When asked about the results of the series against the Mavericks, the Badgers' captain said, "I think it went really well. We were expecting to come this weekend and have two pretty competitive games. I think we did a lot of good things this weekend and came away with all six points."
Headed into the holiday break
Wisconsin has the next two weekends off before a two-game series with #4 Quinnipiac (17-2-0, 8-1-0 ECAC) on December 31st and January 1st.
In the WCHA conference title race, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio State are locked in a three-team battle. Minnesota currently has 41 points in the league, Ohio State has 40, and Wisconsin has 37. The Badgers, however, have played two fewer conference games than Minnesota and Ohio State. Wisconsin leads the conference in points percentage; the Badgers have earned the highest percentage of points available on the schedule thus far.
Wisconsin men's hockey swept by #3 Minnesota
Wisconsin did not look inspiring in its series-opening loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday night. Saturday, the Badgers (7-11-0, 1-9-0 Big Ten) struggled again, falling to the Golden Gophers (15-5-0, 10-2-0 Big Ten) by a score of 6-4.
Wisconsin jumps out to an early lead
The Badgers did look competitive for spurts throughout Saturday's game. Minnesota is the least penalized team in college hockey but gave Wisconsin a rare 5-3 power play opportunity midway through the first period. Sophomore defender Corson Ceulemans took advantage of the opportunity giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, a goal by grad student Brock Caufield increased Wisconsin's lead to 2-0. The center picked up the rebound after senior defender Mike Vorlicky put a shot on goal from the point. Caufield set up his goal by providing a great screen in front of the Minnesota net.
Minnesota's offensive flurry and a controversial major penalty
The Gophers responded to the Badgers' 2-0 lead by scoring six goals in six minutes. The goals were preceded by a questionable major penalty call against Wisconsin's second-line center Charlie Stramel.
The sophomore was assessed a five-minute major penalty for headbutting Minnesota captain Brock Faber in his own head. When watching the incident on replay, Faber appears to pull Stramel's jersey, causing the head contact.
Questionable calls aside, the Badgers failed to hold off the Gophers. First, a Minnesota goal during 4-on-4 play cut Wisconsin's lead in half. Minnesota scored three more goals on the ensuing power play giving the Gophers a 4-2 lead. Three minutes later, Wisconsin allowed another pair of Minnesota goals within 26 seconds, putting the game out of reach.
Historically bad trends for Wisconsin
Wisconsin did not allow another goal and added two more of its own, but that six-minute stretch was too much to handle. The Badgers outscored the Gophers 4-0 across 54 minutes of play but lost for the fifth-straight time to its border rival.
Wisconsin has not won a regular-season conference game on the road since October 29th, 2021. Its 16-straight road losses are more than double the second-longest streak in program history, per Todd Milewski of Badger Extra. The previous streak was seven games set in 2011 when the Badgers were in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Wisconsin football adds two former Cincinnati recruits to its 2023 class
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell hosted a number of committed and uncommitted recruits in the 2023 class this weekend. That weekend of official visits is paying off in a hurry for the Badgers with two former commitments to Coach Fieckell’s staff at Cincinnati declaring their intent to sign with Wisconsin.
Jonas Duclona, a three-star cornerback committed to Wisconsin yesterday. The six-foot Florida native previously held an offer from Wisconsin under the Paul Chryst-regime. Duclona will join a Badgers cornerback room filled with eager young talent. The Badgers’ top four corners from this past season are all leaving the program.
Braedyn Moore, a four-star athlete projected to play safety at Wisconsin did not hold an offer from the Badgers until this week. He was, however, a Cincinnati commit that has since followed Fickell to Madison. The Ohio native is a versatile defender who has experience playing in multiple spots in the secondary. With Fickell’s defensive scheme focusing on having a number of athletically gifted corners, Moore is a great fit for the Badgers.
Topping off the six-pack: Badgers return to UW from transfer portal
Despite entering the transfer portal, Wiscosin offensive lineman will remain a Badger.
Furtney started ten games at guard for the Badgers including eight this season. He has one year of eligibility remaining and has amassed a tremendous amount of experience on the offensive line at Wisconsin.
Furtney is not the first Badger to find his way back to Madison after exploring the transfer portal. Wide receiver Markus Allen had commited to Minnesota before deciding to return to Wisconsin under head coach Luke Fickell. On top of Fickell’s staff relentlessly recruiting high school talent, they seem to be finding ways to get guys already on the roster to buy in to the vision for the future of the program. That should be an exciting thing for Wisconsin fans.
On, Wisconsin.