Tuesday State Sports Briefs: UW's Konz won't practice until Big Red gets to Pasedena

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MADISON - University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema says center Peter Konz might not practice at all this week, as the Badgers get ready to face Oregon in the Rose Bowl on January 2nd.

Bielema said he’d like to get Konz going next week at the latest. The Badgers are expected to have several practices in Los Angeles before the big game. Konz has been out since November 12th with an ankle injury.

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The University of Pittsburgh has denied reports that Mario Cristobal of Florida International University has been offered the head football coaching job with the Panthers. The reports come after University of Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst interviewed for the post on Saturday. If he doesn’t get it, it will be the third time this month Chryst has been passed over for a head coaching job. He was also interviewed at Illinois and Kansas. Chryst says his job interviews have not affected his players as they get ready to face Oregon in the Rose Bowl two weeks from today. The Badgers had two practices during the weekend. And they’ll have three more before leaving for Los Angeles next Monday.

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The state's only major college basketball game tonight will feature Wisconsin's only nationally-ranked women's team. No.18 UW-Green Bay will put an 8-0 record on the line at home against Ball State. The Phoenix will try to win their 22nd straight regular season contest at the Kress Events Center. Green Bay has not played in 12 days, and they're one of nine undefeated teams in the country in games played through Sunday. Phoenix junior Adrian Ritchie is second in the nation in free-throw percentage at 96. Ball State is coming off a 14-point loss to Valparaiso on Sunday. If the Cardinals can pull off the upset, they'll even their record at 6-6. Stephanie Sension will miss tonight's game for Green Bay with an ankle infection. But the Phoenix will get Jenny Gilbertson back. She missed the last three contests with a bruised pelvic bone.

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The Marquette University women's basketball team defeated South Dakota State 59-to-51 last night in Milwaukee. The game was tied at 24 at the intermission. Katherine Plouffe scored seven straight points early in the second half to give the Golden Eagles a 34-27 advantage. Marquette then led by as many as 12 before South Dakota State brought the margin down to single digits late. Plouffe had 20 points and eight rebounds, as Eagles out-shot the Jackrabbits 48-to-37 percent. Ashley Eide was the only Jackrabbit to score in double figures. She had 10 points. Both teams are now 7-5. Marquette will host Vermont tomorrow afternoon.

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The UW-Milwaukee women's basketball team edged Toledo at home Sunday, 60-57. The Panthers were down by 16 points with about nine-and-a-half minutes left. But they battled back to tie the game at 48 just over four minutes to go. Milwaukee then took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Angela Rodriguez. Courtney Ingersoll hit a three-pointer to put Toledo within one with 36 seconds left. But Ashley Green and Rodriguez made free throws in the final 12 seconds to improve UWM's record to 4-6. Neither team shot well. The Panthers made 38-percent to 36-percent for Toledo, the WNIT champions from last season. Kyle Baumgartner scored 17 points for the Rockets, who fell to 6-4. Courtney Lindfors had 19 points and 10 rebounds for UW-Milwaukee.

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Marquette men's center Chris Otule is making progress as he recovers from a left knee injury suffered two weeks ago against Washington. Coach Buzz Williams says the swelling has gone down, but there's still excess fluid in the knee that restricts Otule's ability to move. Otule accompanied the Golden Eagles to Baton Rouge where they lost their first game of the season to LSU last night. Otule was passing to teammates who were working on their moves in the post, and the coach says he's gaining more flexibility. Otule will meet with a doctor next Monday before any decisions are made on when he might play again.

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The Marquette men’s basketball team made the national Top-10 today in both major polls. The Golden Eagles moved up one place to 10th. The University of Wisconsin men also jumped one spot in both polls. They’re now ranked 13th by the media, and 14th by the coaches. The Badgers are 10-2 overall, and will play Mississippi Valley State on Friday afternoon at the Kohl Center in Madison. Syracuse remains Number-One in both polls. Jim Boeheim’s Orange is 11-0.

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UW-Whitewater dropped three places to 16th in the new small college men's basketball poll released this morning by D3hoops.com The Warhawks fell to 8-1 overall, after a two-point loss to Stevens Point last week. The Pointers jumped seven places in the new poll to No.18. UW-River Falls and Edgewood also received votes. Middlebury College of Vermont remains at No. 1.

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In the Division III women's poll, Stevens Point remains at No. 7 with a record of 10-0. River Falls is still 14th. Eau Claire and La Crosse also received votes. Amherst still holds the top spot.

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Three Wisconsin small college basketball teams are playing in holiday tournaments today. The UW-Whitewater men are in San Antonio to play Willamette. UW-Oshkosh is in Las Vegas, and will take on Benedictine. In women's play, Lakeland of Sheboygan faces Hamline of Saint Paul at a tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida. And the Saint Norbert women are at UW-Oshkosh.

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Ripon College swept the weekly basketball honors in the Midwest Conference. Junior forward Taylor Koth won the men's award, after he scored a career-high 36 points against Monmouth after missing four contests due to an injury. Koth also had eight rebounds and a steal in a 19-point Ripon victory. Jill Van Eperen of the Red Hawks is the women's player-of-the-week. The sophomore guard had a career-high 23 points with 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a loss to Monmouth.

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Milwaukee Bucks' rookie forward Tobias Harris had his first full practice yesterday since he spent two days in the hospital with dehydration last week. Harris played a little during Saturday night's exhibition loss at Minnesota. He had four points, one rebound, and one assist in seven minutes. But Harris had not practiced for a week after getting dehydrated during a long practice on December 11th, the third day of training camp. Harris was Milwaukee's first-round draft choice this year. The Bucks are looking to get immediate contributions from him and second-round pick Jon Leuer. The former Badger scored 18 points against the Timberwolves. The Bucks will host Minnesota again tomorrow night in their final exhibition before the regular season begins after Christmas.

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Madison Memorial continues to lead Division 1 in the new AP boys' state high school basketball poll. Germantown is second, Milwaukee Riverside third, and De Pere fourth -- all unchanged from a week ago. Onalaska is still atop Division 2. Whitnall jumped one place to second, and Rice Lake fell one spot to third. There's a new leader in Division 3, where Little Chute moved up from the second spot. Oostburg also rose one place to second. Last week's leader, La Crosse Aquinas, dropped to third. Cuba City still leads Division-Four, followed by Whitefish Bay Dominican and Auburndale. And Randolph still rules the roost in Division 4, with Sheboygan Lutheran and Racine Lutheran second-and-third.

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In the AP girls' poll, Milwaukee Vincent is the new Division-One leader, after being second a week ago. Nicolet fell to No. 2. Milwaukee Pius XI and Janesville Parker are third-and-fourth. New London still tops Division 2, followed by New Berlin Eisenhower and Whitefish Bay. In Division 3, Whitefish Bay Dominican is still the leader. Lomira is second, and Brillion third. Algoma is the new No. 1 in Division 4, trading places with Eau Claire Regis. Oshkosh Lourdes is third. And Wausau Newman still leads Division 5, followed by Black Hawk and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.

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The Milwaukee Admirals won yesterday, 3-1 over Peoria. Chris Mueller and Kyle Wilson each had one goal and one assist, as Milwaukee won their seventh overall game in their last nine. The Admirals also kept Peoria from scoring in all four of the Rivermen’s power play opportunities. Milwaukee came into the game second-to-last in the American Hockey League in penalty-killing.

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Jonathan Kuck and Jilleanne Rookard won the men's-and-women's overall titles yesterday, as the U.S. Speed-skating Championships wrapped up in West Allis. Kuck won the 10,000 meters with a new Pettit National Ice Center record of 13:17.28 seconds. The native of Champaign, Illinois also won the five-thousand meters on Tuesday. Joshua Wood took second in all the men's all-around standings, and Patrick Meek was third. On the women's side, Rookard -- of West Allis -- won the five-thousand meters in 7:08.58 seconds. She also won the three-thousand on Tuesday. Maria Lamb of River Falls took second in both the five-thousand and the women's overall standings. Nancy Swider-Peltz Junior took third in both.

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SCORES

In men's college basketball...

UW-Oshkosh 75, Mount Saint Joseph 64

Southeastern 95, Lawrence 68

UW-Stevens Point 81, Edgewood 70

Ripon 85, Monmouth 66

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--In women's college basketball...

Marquette 59, South Dakota State 51

Marian 67, Alverno 53

Concordia-Mequon 77, Concordia-Chicago 58

Elmhurst 69, Edgewood 33

Bethany 63, Milwaukee School of Engineering 61

UW-Milwaukee 60, Toledo 57

Monmouth 74, Ripon 58

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--Wisconsin boys' high school basketball

Arcadia 64, La Crescent, Minn. 33

Auburndale 59, Wausau Newman 29

Belleville 56, Columbus 41

Cambridge 66, Poynette 62, OT

Clayton 71, Birchwood 25

Fond du Lac St. Mary's Springs 54, Sheboygan Christian 43

Lake Mills 59, Wisconsin Heights 49

Lakeside Lutheran 67, Waterloo 56

Living Word Lutheran 46, Milwaukee Hope School 41

Marathon 65, Pittsville 50

Marshall 75, Deerfield 54

Milwaukee School of Languages 58, Milwaukee Ronald Reagan 48

Milwaukee Marshall 75, Milwaukee Young Coggs Prep 63

Milwaukee Northwest 87, Milwaukee CEO Leadership Academy 45

Montello 53, Oakfield 43

Nekoosa 51, Stevens Point Pacelli 45

Oshkosh Valley Christian 42, Princeton 39

Pardeeville 74, Cambria-Friesland 43

Prairie du Chien 49, Decorah, Iowa 41

Prentice 56, Athens 37

Racine Lutheran 61, Kenosha St. Joseph 50

Randolph 44, Markesan 29

Sheboygan Lutheran 72, Kiel 71

Stratford 36, Edgar 19

Viroqua 42, Lancaster 36

Watertown 58, Westosha Central 32

Whitefish Bay Dominican 85, Lake Country Lutheran 44

Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 58, Northland Lutheran 40

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-- Wisconsin Girls' high school basketball

Algoma 54, De Pere 41

Black Hawk 48, Clinton 47

Brillion 60, Hilbert 45

Denmark 48, Luxemburg-Casco 36

Freedom 51, Little Chute 38

Hustisford 46, Johnson Creek 22

Kenosha Reuther 45, Rock County Christian 42

Madison La Follette 50, Stoughton 39

Manitowoc Lutheran 76, Valders 32

Manitowoc Roncalli 42, Menasha St. Mary's 36

Marshall 36, Lakeside Lutheran 17

Mishicot 61, Reedsville 29

New London 73, Shawano 8

Pardeeville 73, Dodgeland 38

Wauzeka 44, Riverdale 34

Wrightstown 47, Chilton 31

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