Five Potential Upsets to Watch in Friday’s Regional Semifinals

<p>Five teams on upset alert during Friday’s regional semifinal games...</p> <p><strong>(12) Appleton North at (5) Hudson</strong></p> <p>The Lightning only won eight games this season, but they have some huge upsets under their belts already. In Fox Valley Association play, North knocked off both Neenah and Hortonville.  On top of that, Hudson may struggle to match up with 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Max Nelson, who’s averaging  16.4 ppg this season.  Battle-tested in the FVA, there’s not a lot that the Lightning haven’t seen this season.  Meanwhile, the Raiders have also dropped four of the last five ’bigger’ games on their schedule.</p> <p><strong>(13) Racine Park at (4) Kenosha Bradford</strong></p> <p>Bradford probably didn’t relish seeing this draw. While they swept the regular season series, both games were decided by three points or less. On Jan. 10, Park fell 64-66.  When the two teams met on Feb. 14, Bradford walked away with a  59-56 victory. Will the third time be a charm for the Panthers? </p> <p><strong>(5) River Falls at (4) Tomah</strong></p> <p>Not sure this can actually be considered an upset, but  nevertheless, River Falls is a danerous 5-seed.  The Wildcats finished second in a very strong Big Rivers Conference and have one of the state’s best shooters in [player_tooltip player_id="804899" first="Zac" last="Johnson"] (21.6 ppg).  Tomah has an impressive 17-5 overall record, but feasted on lesser competition. In their four combined meetings with Onalaska and La Crosse Central, Tomah fell by an average of  39.8 points.</p> <p><strong>(7) Milwaukee Vincent at (2) Whitefish Bay</strong></p> <p>How will Whitefish Bay handle a target on their back? This was  a 10-14 ball club last season that hasn’t been in this position yet.  This is also tough matchup for a 7-2 game as Vincent finished one game out of second place in the Milwaukee City Conference.  The Blue Dukes will have to slow down junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="935488" first="Brionne" last="Williams"] (17.2 ppg), who’s been one of the state’s biggest surprises this season. </p> <p><strong>(5) Martin Luther at (4) Lake Mills</strong></p> <p>The defending Division 3 state champs had a better-than-expected season. Playing in a loaded Metro Classic Conference, the Spartans went 17-6 overall and finished third in the league behind powers St. Catherine’s and Dominican, playing both of those teams tough throughout the year.  Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="880995" first="Joey" last="Immekus"] has a wealth of experience and a had a big year for Martin Luther, averaging better than 18 points per game.</p>