Every Thursday, we send out the great OnMilwaukee Weekend Preview filled with awesome things to do. Some of those awesome things are sports-related; many are not. So every Monday, we recap what happened in the world of Wisconsin sports while you were out doing all those other awesome weekend things.
Friday
Bucks beat Hawks, 108-101: Giannis Antetokounmpo freaked out at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, putting up 28 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in Milwaukee’s overtime win over Atlanta. Antetokounmpo was especially assertive in the extra period, scoring six points, including a dunk and a 3-pointer. Khris Middleton added 26 points for the Bucks, who improved to 12-7 at home.
Admirals beat Rampage, 3-0: Milwaukee goalie Marek Mazanec stopped 19 shots, earned his second shutout and even had an assist in the win at San Antonio. Vladislav Kemenez, Colton Sissons and Adam Payerl scored for the Ads, who snapped a four-game winless streak.
Saturday
Packers lose to Cardinals, 26-20: In an absurd and insane NFC Divisional Round playoff game in Arizona, Green Bay’s previously ordinary offense did something miraculous to force overtime, only to be foiled by its typically strong defense going limp. After Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary touchdown pass to Jeff Janis as time expired (the second such throw this season) exhilarated the Packers and tied the game, Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald gained 80 yards on two passes to score the winner and end Green Bay’s season. Afterward, Rodgers was dejected and head coach Mike McCarthy said, "I can't say we played our best game. We didn’t play well. We didn’t do enough to win."
Bucks beat Hornets, 105-92: Milwaukee trailed by 10 points after the first quarter, but got it all back and a lot more in big second and third periods, as Khris Middleton scored a game-high 24 points in the road win. It was Middleton’s sixth game in his last seven with at least 20 points, and Greg Monroe (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (14 and 11) both had double-doubles for the Bucks. Former Badgers star Frank Kaminsky had 12 rebounds off the bench for Charlotte.
Admirals beat Rampage, 6-3: In the rematch in San Antonio, Milwaukee’s offense came alive early, charging out to set a season high for goals in the first period (four) and never looking back. Pontus Aberg got his first career hat trick, goalie Juuse Saros had 22 saves and the Admirals won their second straight game.
Golden Eagles lose to Musketeers, 74-66: In their second straight game against a top-ten opponent, Marquette again couldn’t do enough to pull off the upset. After taking an early lead, Marquette was flummoxed by No. 7 Xavier’s 1-3-1 zone, going scoreless for more than eight minutes while the Musketeers went on a 21-0 run to quiet the BMO Harris Bradley Center crowd. Freshman phenom Henry Ellenson had 20 points and seven rebounds, but the Golden Eagles missed 21 of their 25 3-point attempts.
Panthers beat Flames, 87-62: With its two top scorers leading the way, Milwaukee took a 23-point first-half lead and got a relatively easy road win in Chicago. Matt Tiby had a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds and Akeem Springs added 17, while point guard Jordan Johnson dished out 12 assists as the Panthers won for the fourth time in five contests.
UWM women beat Valparaiso, 82-60: At the Klotsche Center, the Panthers got a balanced offensive attack, with four players scoring in double figures, and shot 69 percent on 3-pointers to knock off the Crusaders in the conference win. Steph Kostowicz had 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Sunday
Badgers beat Spartans, 77-76: Wisconsin hung with No. 4 Michigan State the whole afternoon at the electric Kohl Center in Madison and, with clutch offense from Bronson Koenig and Ethan Happ, snapped a three-game losing streak and gave interim head coach Greg Gard his biggest win so far. Koenig led the Badgers with a game-high 27 points, Nigel Hayes added 25 and Happy had 14 points, including the game-winning layup with 10 seconds left.
Marquette women beat Butler, 80-64: In Indianapolis, the Golden Eagles led at halftime for the first time in conference play, and Allazia Blockton scored 17 of her 18 points in the second half to secure the win. Natisha Hiedeman and Erika Davenport added 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Wisconsin women lose to Illinois, 71-65: The Badgers fell behind 10-0 to start the game and never recovered in Champaign, Ill. Nicole Bauman, who had a game-high 17, scored Wisconsin’s first points with 5:25 left in the first half, but the slow start was too much to overcome.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
