Wiaa Boys Basketball Tournament Heats Up This Weekend
The wiaa boys basketball postseason moves into a busy stretch this weekend, with second-round matchups and regional semifinals across the state and more than a dozen area teams playing for a trip to the Kohl Center. Nearly 500 teams are competing across the five divisions, and key local games include Madison Memorial hosting Westosha Central on Friday evening.
Wiaa Boys Basketball matchups in the Madison area
Madison Memorial, the No. 1 seed in the first Division 1 sectional, received a first-round bye and will face Westosha Central at Memorial on Friday evening. Memorial’s head coach Steven Collins surpassed 500 career wins this season, and the Spartans enter the matchup having lost only one game while winning the Big 8 conference by blowing out Middleton in their rematch.
The Spartans are paced by senior twins Ezra and Caleb Liggon, the long-range shooting of guard Anthony Miller, and the steady play of senior Cole Slack—concrete pieces that have underpinned Memorial’s run to the top seed in that sectional.
Division 1 seeds, upsets to watch and regional semifinals statewide
The Division 1 playoff picture includes a loaded top five: #1 D. C. Everest (21-3), #2 Appleton North (20-4), #3 Marshfield (19-5), #4 Kaukauna (21-3) and #5 Stevens Point (18-6). Appleton North shared the FVA conference title with Kaukauna this season; a late-season injury for Appleton North was noted as a possible factor in their postseason outlook.
Nine-seed Neenah is slated to travel to Hudson on Friday night, a first-round road test that the preview singled out as a potential upset opportunity. Kimberly has been hot late in the season, winning six of seven games under first-year head coach Kam Cerroni, and teams such as Superior and Hudson are mentioned among squads that could make noise in their sectionals.
Local and statewide tip times and matchups
Regional semifinals and Division matchups are widespread: in Division One this weekend Sheboygan North hosts Pewaukee, De Pere is home for Oconomowoc, Bay Port entertains Oshkosh North, Green Bay Preble travels to Germantown, Hortonville heads to Appleton North, Appleton West visits Marshfield, Kimberly hosts Hudson, Kaukauna entertains Eau Claire North, and Neenah travels to Hudson. All games are scheduled to tip off at 7 p. m. ET.
Across the other divisions, matchups include Roncalli hosting Laconia in Division Four, Reedsville hosting Lourdes Academy in Division Five, and several Division Three games such as Kiel at Xavier and Brillion hosting Ripon. These regional semifinal lineups and the 7 p. m. ET start time create a compact postseason slate for teams and fans.
As the wiaa boys basketball tournament continues, Friday’s winners are already set to play again the following night: the winners of Friday’s games will each compete again at 7 p. m. on Saturday, March 7, at venues yet to be determined. That Saturday slate will narrow many of the sectional brackets and send advancing teams closer to state-site aspirations.
