(Update) Friday State Sports Briefs: Alvarez lists qualifications for UW gridiron job

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MADISON - University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez says the Badgers’ next football coach does not have to be a head man at another school. But those are the people he’ll consider first, as he looks to replace the suddenly-departed Bret Bielema.

Alvarez eliminated Pittsburgh’s Paul Chryst from consideration yesterday. The AD said it would not be right to take Chryst away from the Panthers just one year after he left Madison, where he ran the Badgers’ offense. Chris Petersen of Boise State has been named as a possible candidate along with Al Golden of Miami, Willie Taggert of Western Kentucky, and Paul Rhoads of Iowa State.

Alvarez says he has already reached out to some possible candidates – and he’ll start his interviews next week. He said the next coach does not need to have ties to Wisconsin or the UW football program. But Alvarez said say they should have knowledge about the Badgers – how they go about their business – and how they win. And Alvarez said the new coach will have to embrace the philosophies that guided the Badgers to six Big Ten titles over the last 20 years. He said does not expect the team and its style of play to change very much. For now, Alvarez will coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl against Stanford on New Year’s Day.

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The UW-Oshkosh football team will try to win its 16th straight game tomorrow, when it plays at Saint Thomas in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The kick-off is at 2 p.m. tomorrow on the Tommies’ home field at Shaughnessey Stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Both teams are 13-0. Oshkosh eliminated Linfield in overtime in the quarter-finals, while Saint Thomas crushed Hobart of New York by 40 points. Oshkosh quarterback Nate Wara threw the game-winning touchdown pass in the OT, and scored two rushing touchdowns in regulation. Brenton Braddock ran for four touchdowns in the Saint Thomas rout. Tomorrow’s winner will play either Mount Union or Mary Hardin-Baylor in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national Division III title game a week from tonight in Salem, Virginia. The new national champ will replace three-time defending titlist UW- Whitewater, which did not make the post-season. Meanwhile, Oshkosh quarterback Nate Wara is one of four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III's version of the Heisman. The winner will be announced on Wednesday night. And Oshkosh coach Pat Cerroni is one of five finalists for the Division III Liberty Mutual Coach-of-the-Year award.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will try to extend Charlotte’s losing streak to six games tonight, when the two teams face each other at the Bradley Center. The Bobcats are 7-10 – and a win tonight would give them more victories than they had in all of last season. But Charlotte has an eight-game losing streak in Milwaukee – and they’ve given up the third-most three-pointers in the NBA, with an average of almost nine per game. Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings has hit 56-percent from beyond-the-arc in his last five outings – but he’s only 35-percent from close range. Monta Ellis, Milwaukee’s leading scorer, is only shooting at a 33-percent clip in his last four contests. But he might have turned things around on Wednesday night, when he scored 21 points in the Bucks’ loss at San Antonio. Milwaukee has lost seven-of-its-last-nine. The Bucks have only scored 92 points a game during that stretch, while scoring 101 in their eight games before that. The Bucks dropped under .500 for the first time all season with their Wednesday night loss to the Spurs. Milwaukee is 8-9.

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The Bucks are almost a quarter-of-the-way through the regular season, and they still have don’t have a consistent rotation. Injuries and slumps have prevented coach Scott Skiles from putting a steady lineup on the floor. And it’s a big reason the Bucks have lost seven-of-their-last-nine games, after starting the season at 6-2. Milwaukee is 8-9 going into a home contest tonight against Charlotte. Skiles says some of his bench players have been starting lately – and he’s trying to find something consistent that will work. Two key backups – Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy – were both injured a week ago at Minnesota. Udrih could be out for another week with a sprained ankle, while Dunleavy has missed two of Milwaukee’s last three games with a sore knee. On the other hand, forward Ersan Ilyasova is recovering from an early season slump. He scored 17 first-half points in the Bucks’ loss at San Antonio on Wednesday night. And forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is playing his way back into shape, after having knee surgery in the off-season.

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The Milwaukee Wave will try to get above .500 in the Major Indoor Soccer League when it hosts Rochester tomorrow. Marcio Leite, last year’s MVP of the league title series, will make his season debut after being out with a hamstring injury. Milwaukee is coming off a 14-9 win over Chicago last weekend, in which the Wave came back from a 5-0 deficit. They’ll play at Rochester Lancer team that’s 3-3 after losing to Syracuse. Rochester’s Garrett Pettis scored a hat trick in that game.

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The UW-Green Bay men’s basketball team lost at Tennessee Tech last night, 74-68. Phoenix center Alec Brown, a highly-touted NBA prospect, was held to just one field goal – and that didn’t happen until there was one second left in the game, when he hit a lay-up. The 7-1 Brown got into foul trouble and played for just 22 minutes. He had six points and four rebounds to go with his four fouls. Green Bay led by two at the break, but Tennessee Tech went on a 13-to-2 run early in the second half. The Phoenix tied the game twice after that, but they could never regain the lead. A lay-up by Lanerryl Johnson put the Golden Eagles in front with 2:36 left, and they finished the game on a 10-4 run. Jud Dilliard had 23 points for Tennessee Tech. He went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, as the Eagles improved to 5-3. Keifer Sykes scored 18 for UW-Green Bay, which fell to 3-5. The Phoenix’s next game is on Wednesday night at Wisconsin.

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The UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team will try to break a five-game losing streak tonight, when it hosts Northern Illinois. The Panthers are 2-6, with their worst record since 2006 when Milwaukee got off to a 2-11 start. Rob Jeter’s team is coming off a 20-point home loss to Buffalo on Wednesday night. Javon McCrea had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls in that game. Northern Illinois is 2-and-5, and is coming off an 11-point win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Milwaukee senior guard Paris Gulley has averaged 20 points in two games since coming back from a pre-season wrist injury. He had 16 against Buffalo.

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There’s a very light schedule of non-conference games tonight for Wisconsin’s Division III basketball teams. Northland College of Ashland has a men’s-and-women’s double-header at Finlandia in Upper Michigan. The Carthage men play at Coe College. And the Wisconsin Lutheran women are at Millikin. Most Wisconsin teams will play conference games tomorrow.

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Baseball’s Winter Meetings ended yesterday with no new player acquisitions for the Milwaukee Brewers. General manager Doug Melvin did not pursue any trades, and he did not make any offers to free-agents. Melvin would still like to acquire a left-handed reliever – but he said the prices were too high this week. The Saint Louis Cardinals signed 37-year-old Randy Choate to a seven-and-a-half million dollar contract over three years. And the Angels of Anaheim picked up Sean Burnett in a two-year, nine-million-dollar package. Former starter Tom Gorzelanny is still a possibility for Milwaukee – but his agent is taking a wait-and-see approach to free agency for now. Melvin’s trying to shy away from giving three-year contracts to older pitchers – both starters and relievers – after getting burned the past few seasons by Jeff Suppan and Randy Wolf. For now, Melvin says he’s willing to go with the younger pitchers who shined at various times this past season. He says the Brewers still need to find out how starters like Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta, and Mark Rogers will hold up for a full 162-game campaign.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team will try to keep its recent success going, when it hosts Michigan Tech tonight and tomorrow night. The Badgers beat-and-tied sixth-ranked Denver last weekend, to improve to 2-5-3 in the WCHA and 2-7-3 overall. Freshman Nick Kerdiles had two key assists for the Badgers, after serving a 10-game suspension for an NCAA rules violation. Michigan Tech is winless in its last three games, with a conference record of 3-6-and-1 and an overall mark of 4-8-1. Blake Pietila is the Huskies’ top scorer with eight goals. And he ranks 19th in the country in goals per game with .062.

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It was not that many years ago when it was almost impossible to get a ticket to a Wisconsin men’s hockey game. But these days, large segments of the Kohl Center have empty seats. The Wisconsin State Journal says average attendance has dropped since the Badgers won their last national title in 2006, from 14,400-plus per game to almost 11,800. Coach Mike Eaves said the Great Recession is partially to blame – along with the Badgers’ not-so-great record in recent years. So far this season, Wisconsin has averaged 9,600 fans a game. That’s still the third-highest in all of college hockey – but Wisconsin had been No. 1 for most years since moving into the Kohl Center in 1998. Ticket prices have not gone up very much, but the cost of parking has doubled around the arena. The Wisconsin State Journal says some fans have also complained about a low quality of non-conference opponents, plus a steady stream of underclassmen leaving for the National Hockey League. Athletic director Barry Alvarez also blames the economy for the lower attendance – plus increased competition for the entertainment dollar. Alvarez says he’s not losing sleep over the matter, but he is committed to turning the situation around.

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The Milwaukee Admirals will try to score at least one point in their sixth straight game tonight, when they play at Rockford. The Ice-Hogs lead the American Hockey League’s Midwest Division at 12-9-0-1. Milwaukee is four points back at 9-8-2-1. The Admirals are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss at Texas on Wednesday night. Milwaukee will play at Charlotte on Sunday and Tuesday. The Admirals will then have 11 of their next 14 contests at home.

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The Badger women's hockey team will wrap up its 2012 portion of the schedule this weekend at home against North Dakota. They’ll play tomorrow and Sunday afternoons at the new LaBahn Arena on the Madison campus. The ninth-ranked Badgers are 10-6-2 overall. North Dakota comes in at 11-5. Wisconsin is 34-2-1 lifetime against the Fighting Sioux.

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SCORES

In men’s college basketball…

Edgewood 66, Maranatha Baptist 45

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In women’s college basketball…

Concordia-Mequon 65, Milwaukee School of Engineering 42

Lakeland 75, Maranatha Baptist 68 in overtime

Alverno 65, Edgewood 49

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Wisconsin boys' high school basketball

Algoma 61, Southern Door 50

Argyle 53, Juda 50

Berlin 51, Freedom 33

Cambria-Friesland 69, Oshkosh Valley Christian 43

Campbellsport 42, Kewaskum 39

Cochrane-Fountain City 49, Independence 39

Colfax 62, Boyceville 41

Drummond 43, Solon Springs 27

Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 44, Eleva-Strum 42

Elk Mound 58, Glenwood City 29

Fox Valley Lutheran 70, Waupaca 55

Gilmanton 53, Alma/Pepin 41

Green Bay NEW Lutheran 59, Sturgeon Bay 49

Highland 40, Benton 25

Hillsboro 51, New Lisbon 43

Hortonville 54, New London 31

Howards Grove 56, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 41

Hurley 70, Mellen 43

Hustisford 82, Madison Abundant Life 38

Kettle Moraine Lutheran 72, Mayville 29

Kewaunee 54, Sevastopol 46

Little Chute 67, Appleton Xavier 53

Marinette 56, Denmark 40

Mauston 71, Tomah 56

Melrose-Mindoro 70, Blair-Taylor 51

Milwaukee Bradley Tech 93, Milwaukee North 85

Milwaukee Rufus King 80, Kenosha Indian Trail 36

Milwaukee Thomas More 62, Milwaukee School of Languages 45

Mondovi 54, Spring Valley 40

Monticello 54, Albany 46

Necedah 73, Bangor 65

Niagara 59, Goodman/Pembine 55

Oconto 58, Gibraltar 53, OT

Oostburg 43, Ozaukee 32

Oshkosh Lourdes 57, Rio 36

Plymouth 58, Waupun 55

Princeton/Green Lake 52, Markesan 29

Racine Prairie 60, Kenosha Reuther 49

Racine St. Catherine's 42, Shoreland Lutheran 39

River Ridge 52, Shullsburg 48

Royall 73, Cashton 40

St. Croix Central 55, Plum City 27

Seneca 60, Waupun Central Wisconsin Christian 44

Seymour 63, Luxemburg-Casco 45

Sheboygan Lutheran 67, Random Lake 48

Sheboygan County Christian 58, Kohler 55

Sheboygan North 83, Shawano 43

South Wayne Black Hawk 65, Pecatonica 43

Superior 60, Ashland 26

Two Rivers 66, New Holstein 55

Washburn 56, South Shore 27

Whitehall 68, Lincoln 44

Williams Bay 67, Dodgeland 50

Winneconne 62, Ripon 56

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 59, Manawa 51

Wonewoc-Center 52, Brookwood 39

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Girls' high school basketball

Altoona 56, Cadott 47

Auburndale 44, Wausau Newman 38

Augusta 54, Gilman 20

Barron 56, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 33

Bay Port 56, Green Bay Notre Dame 43

Beaver Dam Wayland 55, Cambria-Friesland 25

Bloomer 53, Maple Northwestern 32

Boscobel 57, Hazel Green Southwestern 56

Brodhead 45, Palmyra-Eagle 18

Cambridge 40, Poynette 33

Chilton 52, Valders 41

Chippewa Falls McDonell 61, Osseo-Fairchild 57, OT

Coleman 42, Gillett 25

Columbus 36, Belleville 33, OT

Darlington 64, Fennimore 44

De Soto 31, North Crawford 29

Dodgeville 65, Richland Center 61

East Troy 63, Edgerton 59

Eau Claire Regis 54, Thorp 33

Elcho 57, Three Lakes 42

Elkhorn 58, Burlington 48

Evansville 70, McFarland 67, OT

Fall Creek 58, Stanley-Boyd 3

Goodman-Pembine 42, White Lake 22

Janesville Parker 52, Middleton 50

Kimberly 53, Kaukauna 18

Lake Mills 66, Wisconsin Heights 46

Lakeside Lutheran 67, Waterloo 26

Laona 35, Florence 28

Lodi 49, New Glarus 41

Loyal 21, Spencer 17

Madison Memorial 63, Madison East 50

Manitowoc Roncalli 46, Mishicot 40

Marathon 65, Pittsville 19

Marshall 56, Watertown Luther Prep 26

Marshfield Columbus 44, Granton 18

Menasha St. Mary's 43, Hilbert 36

Milwaukee Bay View/Lifelong Learning 57, Milwaukee Tenor 2

Milwaukee Reagan 46, Milwaukee Young-Coggs Prep 16

Neillsville 69, Colby 31

Nekoosa 77, Plainfield Tri-County 27

Owen-Withee 64, Greenwood 39

Peshtigo 69, Wausaukee 16

Platteville 57, River Valley 30

Prairie du Chien 36, Lancaster 19

Prairie Farm 39, Turtle Lake 37

Prentice 51, Athens 40

Somers Shoreland Lutheran 44, Greendale Martin Luther 32

Stockbridge 43, Kohler 41

Stratford 50, Edgar 48

Verona 44, Janesville Craig 36

West Salem 35, Black River Falls 30

Westby 42, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 29

Westosha Central 39, Delavan-Darien 36

Whitewater 51, Jefferson 41

Wilmot Union 66, Waterford 56

Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 81, Northland Lutheran 20

Wisconsin School for the Deaf 46, Kenosha Reuther 45

Wrightstown 39, Brillion 26

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Boys' high school hockey

Amery 2, Burnett County Blizzard 1

Antigo 6, Medford Area 2

Beloit Memorial 8, Madison LaFollette/East 0

Chequamegon/Phillips 7, Rhinelander 1

Eau Claire Memorial 4, River Falls 1

Eau Claire Regis/Chippewa Falls McDonell/Bloomer 4, Stevens Point Pacelli 2

Green Bay United 6, Sheboygan 5

Hartland Arrowhead 5, Germantown 1

Hudson 8, Menomonie 1

Janesville 4, Madison Memorial 3

La Crosse Aquinas 5, La Crescent/Houston, Minn. 2

Madison Edgewood 15, Monroe 0

Madison West 6, Sun Prairie 2

Mosinee 4, Lakeland 1

Northland Pines 6, Tomahawk 2

Onalaska 10, Viroqua 3

Oshkosh 9, Beaver Dam 2

Rice Lake 5, Eau Claire North 0

Stevens Point 3, Schofield D.C. Everest 0

Wausau West 6, Marshfield 2

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Girls' high school hockey

Brookfield 6, USM 1

Fond Du Lac 4, Appleton United 2

Onalaska 4, St. Croix Valley Fusion 2

Superior 2, New Richmond 1

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High School Wrestling

Amery 81, Durand 0

Amherst 38, Menominee Indian 33

Arcadia 58, Blair-Taylor 18

Hartland Arrowhead 55, Muskego 16

Lake Geneva Badger 67, Westosha Central 3

Bay Port 63, Green Bay West/Southwest 9

Bonduel 63, Weyauwega-Fremont 9

Brodhead/Juda 75, Big Foot/Williams Bay 3

Chippewa Falls 63, Eau Claire Memorial 18

Coleman 59, Escanaba, Mich. 15

Cumberland 54, Barron 30

Denmark 42, West De Pere 35

Dodgeville 39, River Valley 38

East Troy 45, Jefferson 30

Elkhorn 45, Waterford 30

Ellsworth 63, Baldwin-Woodville 15

Fox Valley Lutheran 46, Clintonville 16

Franklin 61, Oak Creek 9

Green Bay Preble/East 50, De Pere 24

Holmen 62, La Crosse Aquinas 9

Johnson Creek 51 Horicon 24

Kaukauna 55, Appleton North 9

Kettle Moraine 60, Waukesha North 24

Kiel 44, Campbellsport 33

Kimberly 49, Appleton West 25

Ladysmith 61, Spooner 18

Lakeland 42, Three Lakes 30

Manitowoc Lincoln 42, Sheboygan South 30

Mauston 45, Tomah 24

Mayville 52, Winnebago Lutheran Academy 30

Menomonie 65, Eau Claire North 10

Merrill 63, Wausau East 14

Milw. Bay View/Lifelong Learn. 42, Milwaukee Hamilton 18

Milw. Bradley Tech./Carmen 42, Milwaukee Bay View/Lifelong Learning 15

Milwaukee Vincent/Brown Deer 45, Milwaukee Bay View/Lifelong Learning

Mondovi 66, Independence/Gilmanton 9

Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 63, Spencer/Marshfield Columbus 18

New London 50, Shawano Community 22

New Richmond 57, Somerset 21

Oconto Falls 54, Seymour 18

Oshkosh North 45, Menasha 21

Orfordville Parkview 47, Beloit Turner 27

Osceola 36, Prescott 36 (Osceola wins on criteria)

Port Washington 58, Mequon Homestead 19

Racine William Horlick 58, Racine Washington Park/St. Catherine`s 21

Reedsville 44, Valders 24

Ripon 54, Berlin 30

Saint Croix Central 45, Luck/Frederic/Grantsburg 26

Sparta 57, La Crosse Logan 15

Stanley-Boyd/Owen-Withee/Thorp 37, Abbotsford/Colby 24

Sun Prairie 50, Madison West 27

Superior 58, Bloomer/Colfax 22

Two Rivers 56, Kewaskum 12

Waupun 64, New Holstein 18

West Allis Nathan Hale 58, Brookfield Central 24

West Bend West 43, Wisconsin Lutheran 24

Westfield 50, Marshall 18

Wilmot Union 45, Union Grove 21

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 81, Almond-Bancroft/Stevens Point Pacelli 0

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