Reaction to WIAA state tourney pairings along with my predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Results from my sectional final predictions followed by my overall mark in each division:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division 1:</strong>&nbsp;3-1 (53-15)<br><strong>Division 2:</strong>&nbsp;2-2 (68-19)<br><strong>Division 3:</strong>&nbsp;3-1 (70-24)<br><strong>Division 4:&nbsp;</strong>3-1 (83-12)<br><strong>Division 5:</strong>&nbsp;3-1 (102-18)<br><em><strong>TOTAL:&nbsp;</strong>14-6 (376-88) (81 percent)</em><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WIAA State Tournament<br>At Kohl Center, Madison<br>Thursday's Games<br>Division 3 Semifinals</strong><br>No. 1 seed Freedom (27-1) vs. No. 4 seed Elk Mound (24-4), 1:35 p.m.<br>No. 2 seed Milwaukee Academy of Science (23-1) vs. No. 3 seed Lake Mills (24-4), 15 minutes following Game 1<br><strong>Division 4 Semifinals</strong><br>No. 1 seed Bonduel (27-1) vs. No. 4 seed The Prairie School (14-15), 6:35 p.m.<br>No. 2 seed Mineral Point (27-1) vs. No. 3 seed Aquinas (24-3), 15 minutes following Game 1<br><br><strong>Reaction &amp; Predictions for D3-4:</strong><br><br>Only in the Bizarro World is Academy of Science not the No. 1 seed in Division 3. Heck you could make a very strong case for coach Agape Keys' squad being the best team in the state, no matter the division. Take a gander at teams MAS has defeated this season ... West Allis Central, Verona, Nicolet, Fond du Lac, Pewaukee, Eau Claire Memorial, Arrowhead and Racine Lutheran, among others. In addition, the Novas beat Warren, Ill., a team that lost in the Class 4A state-title game in Illinois to Benet Academy 55-54 on Saturday night. Freedom has a very strong team and did split with Slinger, but the Irish simply have not played the schedule or have the overall talent of MAS, which features a pair of NCAA Division I recruits in seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1447228' first='Jamarion' last='Batemon'] (Iowa State) and [player_tooltip player_id='1390441' first='Devin' last='Brown'] (Coastal Carolina). <br><br>Ok. Enough of the rant. As coaches like to say, you just have to go and play the games at this point. With that said, I like Freedom and star sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1847792' first='Donovan' last='Davis'] to defeat Elk Mound in the first game of the state tournament and Academy of Science to get past a very good and well coached Lake Mills squad that has some stars of its own in senior [player_tooltip player_id='1412881' first='AJ' last='Bender'] (Minnesota State-Mankato), junior [player_tooltip player_id='1745860' first='Brady' last='Benish'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin']. In the state-championship game, I think Academy of Science breaks through after finishing second in 2022 and losing in the state semifinals in 2023 and wins the title over Freedom.<br><br>In Division 4, I would have gone with Mineral Point as the top seed after watching all four of the teams in the division in person. But the defending D4 state champs got the No. 2 seed and a rematch with Aquinas, which shared the Mississippi Valley Conference title with Division 1 Holmen. The Pointers used a flurry of points late to beat Aquinas 62-61 at the Kohl Center a year ago. Some of the key players from a year ago are back for each team, including [player_tooltip player_id='1289076' first='Eli' last='Lindsey'], [player_tooltip player_id='2399607' first='Jaxson' last='Wendhausen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1874969' first='Drew' last='Aschliman'] of Mineral Point along with [player_tooltip player_id='1890447' first='Logan' last='Becker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2632136' first='Trey' last='Bahr'] of Aquinas. This should be another down-to-wire contest with plenty of momentum shifts. I'll go with Mineral Point as it's 1-3-1 zone defense is extremely effective. In the other semifinal, upstart The Prairie School of Racine takes on top-seeded Bonduel. On paper, this may appear to be a blowout as Bonduel has won 27 of 28 games while The Prairie School is the lone below .500 team in the entire state-tournament field at 14-15. But coach Jason Atanasoff's Hawks play an extremely rigorous schedule in the Metro Classic Conference and feature an extremely strong sophomore class and a true senior leader in point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1289089' first='Carsen' last='Eeg']. The smart money is on Bonduel and I'll go with the Bears as well. In the title game, I like Mineral Point to defeat Bonduel and win its second straight state championship under coach Dan Burreson.<br><br><strong>WIAA State Tournament<br>At Kohl Center, Madison<br>Friday's Games<br>Division 5 Semifinals</strong><br>No. 1 seed Cochrane-Fountain City (26-2) vs. No. 4 seed Turtle Lake (21-5), 9:05 a.m.<br>No. 2 seed Sheboygan Lutheran (24-4) vs. No. 3 seed Abundant Life Christian (23-6), 15 minutes following Game 1<br><strong>Division 2 Semifinals</strong><br>No. 1 seed Racine Park (25-3) vs. No. 4 seed Cedarburg (20-8), 1:35 p.m. <br>No. 2 seed Wauwatosa West (22-6) vs. No. 3 seed Wausau East (20-7), 15 minutes following Game 1<br><strong>Division 1 Semifinals</strong><br>No. 1 seed Wisconsin Lutheran (26-2) vs. No. 4 seed Oshkosh North (19-9), 6:35 p.m.<br>No. 2 seed Waunakee (23-5) vs. No. 3 seed Marshfield (22-6), 15 minutes following Game 1<br><br><strong>Reaction &amp; Predictions for D1, 2, 5:</strong><br><br>Cochrane-Fountain City breezed through its Dairyland Conference schedule, winning all 20 of its games. The Pirates then posted two impressive sectional wins, beating defending D5 state champion Columbus Catholic in the semifinals and previously undefeated Royall in the finals. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2624236' first='Cameron' last='Lipinski'] is one of the better players in the state most don't know much about. The 6-foot-4 senior is averaging 21.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and made more than 90 three-point baskets. Turtle Lake's head coach, Angela Wagner, is the first female to coach a boys' basketball team in the WIAA State Tournament. Her son, [player_tooltip player_id='2406762' first='Brandon' last='Wagner'], is a very talented 6-foot-6 junior forward with good strength and the ability to dominate as he's averaging 21.1 ppg and 14.9 rpg. I like Turtle Lake to win this one in a very close game. In the other semifinal, Sheboygan Lutheran plays Abundant Life Christian, two strong teams that have been at the state tourney in the past. Lutheran has a strong inside game with [player_tooltip player_id='2382133' first='Marion' last='Boyland'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2224503' first='Brennen' last='Hackbarth'] and that may prove to be the difference so I'll pick the Crusaders. In the title game, I like Sheboygan Lutheran to beat Turtle Lake. <br><br>Racine Park won the Southeast title and then cruised past Waterford in the sectional final to get to the state tournament for the first time since 1960. The Panthers are hungry to capture the school's second state title -- the other came in 1943 -- but first they must get past Cedarburg, a team playing as well as any other in the state over the past month or so. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 13 outings and beat Nicolet, Slinger and Notre Dame in its most recent outings. Still, I think Park's speed, size and experience wins out so I have the Panthers advancing to the title game. Another extremely hot team, Wauwatosa West, meets Wausau East in the other semifinal. Wauwatosa West has won 12 in a row and senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1240337' first='Jake' last='Hansen'] surpassed 1,500 career points in the Trojans' sectional-final win over Mount Horeb. [player_tooltip player_id='2288469' first='Jalen' last='Brown'] netted 30 points in that contest for coach Chris Newbauer's squad. I like Tosa West to beat Wausau East and then turn back Racine Park in the D2 title game. <br><br>In Division 1, defending Division 2 state winner Wisconsin Lutheran rightfully got the No. 1 seed. But now the Vikings have to play Oshkosh North, which is on a recent roll and features perhaps the best player in the state in senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1282617' first='Xzavion' last='Mitchell'], an Iowa State recruit who had 47 points in the Spartans' sectional-final win over De Pere. Trying to slow down Mitchell, who is averaging 35.0 ppg and has scored a mind-boggling 981 points this season against some of the best competition our state has to offer. This will be a very close game, but I think [player_tooltip player_id='1552512' first='Zavier' last='Zens'] (6-7) and [player_tooltip player_id='2140949' first='Kager' last='Knueppel'] (6-8) can make things as tough as possible for Mitchell in the paint, and Wisconsin Lutheran has the edge on the perimeter with [player_tooltip player_id='1485498' first='Isaiah' last='Mellock'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1973108' first='Alex' last='Greene']. In the other semifinal, Waunakee takes on Marshfield for the second time this season. The two met in the Midwest Players Classic in La Crosse on Jan. 18 with Waunakee pulling out a 59-55 victory in a game that was tight the entire way. I like Marshfield to get this one as [player_tooltip player_id='1973149' first='Chris' last='Pohl'] (6-7) might be the difference for the Tigers. In the state-title game, I like Wisconsin Lutheran to defeat Marshfield and win its second consecutive state championship under coach Ryan Walz. <br><br><strong>WIAA State Tournament<br>At Kohl Center, Madison<br>Saturday's Games</strong><br>Division 5 Title Game, 11:05 a.m.<br>Division 4 Title Game, 15 minutes following D5 contest<br>Division 3 Title Game, 15 minutes following D4 contest<br>Division 2 Title Game, 6:35 p.m.<br>Division 1 Title Game, 15 minutes following D2 contest<br><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->