Sports : Friday, 3/17/17

Boys Track & Field:

North Fond du Lac competed at Oshkosh for an indoor meet on Thursday. Scoring points for the Orioles were Jordan Ives who finished 7th in the long jump and Tim Barthmann who placed 5th in the pole vault.

The WIAA Boys State Basketball Tournament continues today in Madison. Today the action starts with the Division 5 semifinals at 9:05 am, the Division 2 semifinals at 1:35 pm and the Division 1 semifinals in the evening session at 6:35 pm.

In Thursday’s action, Prescott defeated Lake Mills and Xavier defeated Ripon to advance to Saturday’s Division 3 Championship Game. In Division four, Darlington defeated Cameron and Destiny defeated Manitowoc Roncalli to advance to Saturday’s title game.

College Basketball:

Wisconsin 84, Virginia Tech 74

–Bronson Koenig scored 28 points, including eight three pointers, Nigel Hayes 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Badgers defeated Virginia Tech in Buffalo to advance in the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies were within one point (74-73) with 2:25 left in the game, but the Badgers closed on a 10-1 run to pull out the win.

Wisconsin will play top-seed Villanova on Saturday in Buffalo. Tipoff time is scheduled for 1:40 pm central time. Villanova struggled early against 16-seed Mount Saint Mary’s, but pulled away in the second half with a 76-56 win.

Other Big Ten teams in action Thursday:

Middle Tennessee 81, Minnesota 72

–The 12th seed Blue Raiders knock off the 5 seed Gophers in Milwaukee

Northwestern 68, Vanderbilt 66

–Northwestern wins its first ever NCAA Tournament game, holding off Vanderbilt in a thriller. The Wildcats face top-seed Gonzaga on Saturday.

Xavier 76, Maryland 65

–The 11-seed Musketeers defeat the Terrapins in Salt Lake City.

Purdue 80, Vermont 70

–Purdue will face Iowa State on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Tonight, Marquette plays their first round game against South Carolina. Tipoff time is scheduled for 8:50 this evening.

Indiana coach Tom Crean has been fired after nine seasons. Crean won two Big Ten regular-season championships over the last five seasons but went 18-16 this season and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in nine years. That includes each of his first three seasons after he took over a gutted team following an NCAA scandal.

NFL: The Oakland Raiders have agreed to a deal with free-agent tight Jared Cook. A person familiar with the deal said Thursday that Cook will sign with the Raiders after visiting the team facility this week. NFL Network first reported the deal and says it is worth $12.2 million over two years with $5 million guaranteed in the first year. Cook played in 10 games with five starts last year for Green Bay, catching 30 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown.

College Baseball:

Dickinson State 7, Marian 6 (10 Innings)

MLB:

Milwaukee 8, Arizona 5

–The Brewers host Kansas City today in Cactus League play.

The Bucks are back in action tonight, continuing their west coast road trip with a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers. Pregame coverage begins at 9:10 pm this evening, tipoff at 9:30.