KFIZ Sports Scoreboard : 12/17/2020

Men’s College Basketball: 

Big Ten: 

Purdue 67, #20 Ohio State 60

Women’s College Basketball: 

Big East: 

Marquette 66, St. John’s 62

NBA Preseason: 

Chicago 124, Oklahoma City 103

Sports Headlines: 

>>Marquette Hosts Seton Hall Pirates At Fiserv Forum

(Milwaukee, WI)  —  Marquette hosts the Seton Hall Pirates at the Fiserv Forum tonight (Thursday) at 8:00 p-m. The 4-and-3 Pirates are riding a three-game winning streak behind Sandro Mamukelshvili’s 20 points-a-game. The Golden Eagles have won three out of their last four games, have an overall mark of 5-and-2, and have two wins over top-10 teams in the early going. Senior guard Koby McEwen is averaging 15-point-seven points-a-game and freshman big man Dawson Garcia checks in at almost 13 points-a-game. This is the second Big East Conference contest for both sides.

>>Former Badger Coach Among Candidates For Coaching Job At Illinois

(Campaign, IL)  —  Among the candidates being interviewed for the head football coaching position at Illinois is former Badger coach Bret Bielema.  The Illini fired Lovie Smith this week after five seasons.  Bielema was 68-and-24 while coaching Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to three Big Ten titles and he was named conference Coach of the Year in 2006.  He and Lance Leipold are among the first names being connected to the Illinois job. Leipold won six Division Three football titles with the U-W-Whitewater Warhawks from 2007-to-2014.  He compiled a 109-and-six record at the southern Wisconsin school before building the Buffalo Bulls into a Mid-American Conference title contender.

>>1 Hidden Stat For TE Robert Tonyan Jumps Off The Page

(Green Bay, WI)  —  Third-year tight end Robert Tonyan has come out of seemingly nowhere to become the productive and efficient player at that position the Green Bay Packers have needed for years.  He has 46 receptions and nine touchdowns through the first 13 games of the season.  Even more impressive, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has had only six incompletions on passes intended for Tonyan.  That means that six-foot-five, 240-pound Packer has more passes completed for touchdowns than the total number of incomplete passes when he was targeted.  More than 88-percent of the passes thrown to Tonyan this season have been completed – and that’s first among all wide receivers and tight ends in the NFL. Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, a former U-W Badger, is the only qualified receiver with a higher percentage of completed receptions.

>>Budenholzer Found Out About Supermax Signing While He Was Pulling Out Of His Parking Garage

(Milwaukee, WI)  —  Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer heard the good news while he was pulling out of his parking garage.  He saw where his son had texted him the tweet announcing Giannis Antetokounmpo had signed the 228-million supermax deal with the Bucks.  Antetokounmpo says he believes he can win a title in Milwaukee, adding the team has a “great culture.” He says he didn’t let any teammates know about his decision because he didn’t want the news to leak.  Bucks fans were worried the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player could become a free agent at the end of this season if he didn’t sign up.  Antetokounmpo says he wanted to show loyalty to Milwaukee and its fans.

>>Absence Of Top 2 Wide Receivers Has Crippled Badgers Offense

(Madison, WI)  —  Although redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz has shouldered much of the blame for Wisconsin’s worst offensive performance in years, it may be more of a factor of who isn’t playing.  The Badgers have missed senior wide receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor.  Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph tells the media he’s confident both will return for the 2021 season.  Both Davis and Pryor have been sidelined by concussions during the three-game losing streak.  It isn’t clear if either will be suited up when the Minnesota Gophers visit Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.  The two pass-catchers have combined for just 11 receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns – both by Davis, one on a running play.

>>3 Wisconsin Badgers Defensive Players Make All-Big Ten Team

(Madison, WI)  —  Three members of the Wisconsin Badgers defense are being honored by the Big Ten Conference. Senior defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk, junior linebacker Jack Sanborn and senior defensive back Caesar Williams were named to the All-Big Ten third-team. Loudermilk and Sanborn were recognized by the media while Williams was named by Big Ten coaches. U-W senior safety Eric Burrell, sophomore linebacker Leo Chenal and junior cornerback Faion Hicks all earned honorable mentions.  Iowa defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon of Kenosha is the Big Ten Defensive Lineman and Defensive Player of the Year.

>>MLB Officially Designates The Negro Leagues As “Major League”

(Undated)  —  Major League Baseball is officially designating the Negro Leagues to “Major League” status. The move will put stats and records from the segregation-era into the official MLB history books, a change commissioner Rob Manfred says is long overdue.  About 34-hundred players from seven different Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948 will now be recognized as major Leaguers.  Their stats and records are now part of Major League history