WIAA State Tournament schedule, thoughts and predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some thoughts and my predictions for the boys' basketball state basketball tournament set for Thursday through Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Predictions Results To Date</strong><br>Division 1 -- 58-10 (85 percent)<br>Division 2 -- 68-17 (80 percent)<br>Division 3 -- 75-21 (78 percent)<br>Division 4 -- 74-22 (77 percent)<br>Division 5 -- 104-17 (86 percent)<br><strong>TOTAL -- 379-87 (81 percent)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WIAA State Tournament</strong><br><strong>At Kohl Center, Madison<br><br>Thursday's Games<br><br>DIVISION 3 <br><br>1:35 p.m. -- #1 Seymour (27-1) vs. #4 Saint Croix Central (19-9)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seymour and Saint Croix Central kick off the state tournament with a Division 3 semifinal contest. Seymour won the Bay Conference with an unbeaten record while Saint Croix Central tied for the Middle Border Conference crown with Prescott and Osceola. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2391083' first='Kyler' last='Marks'] (6-5) is a matchup problem for most teams as the versatile forward from Seymour can score inside and outside, and he also was chosen as the Player of the Year in the Bay Conference. Coach Bobby Kuchta uses rugged junior [player_tooltip player_id='2508494' first='Isaac' last='Feske'] (6-3) to guard the opponent's top player while sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2615539' first='Jordan' last='Krause'] (6-1) is extremely skilled. Saint Croix Central has some size in the form of 6-foot-9 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2809654' first='Tanner' last='Grinnell'] and a versatile forward of its own in senior [player_tooltip player_id='1561922' first='Matyas' last='Larson'] (6-4). Seymour has been one of the premier teams at the D3 level all winter and has answered the bell in 27 of 28 games. <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Seymour<br><br><strong>15 minutes after completion of Seymour vs. Saint Croix Central<br>#2 Lake Mills (24-2) vs. #3 Racine St. Catherine's (23-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lake Mills is about as tough with the ball as they come. The L-Cats don't turn it over and work for high percentage shots. Coach Steve Hicklin also has a lineup full of capable scorers led by juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'] (18.0 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2505500' first='Collin' last='Christian'] (14.7 ppg). Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1745860' first='Brady' last='Benish'] (14.8 ppg) is a stellar shooter while senior [player_tooltip player_id='2609336' first='Ashton' last='Winger'] (10.6 ppg) is the fourth player to average in double figures for the L-Cats, winners of the Capitol North Conference. St. Catherine's played an outstanding game in the sectional final, turning back a very good Oostburg squad in convincing fashion. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='LaMont' last='Hamilton'] (26.0 ppg) is a dynamic player and maybe the quickest player in the state. He is headed to Minnesota to play college football for the Gophers. Coach Ryan Thompson got a big showing from senior [player_tooltip player_id='2391089' first='Eddie' last='Vinson Jr.'] (12.0 ppg) against Oostburg as he finished with a game-best 28 points. <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Lake Mills<br><br><strong>D3 State Championship Game<br><br>My Pick:</strong> Lake Mills over Seymour<br><br>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br><br><strong>DIVISION 4<br><br>6:35 p.m. -- #1 Bonduel (25-3) vs. #4 Cambridge (19-9)</strong><br><br>Bonduel getting the No. 1 seed over one-loss Milwaukee Juneau is a surprise, but it's nothing compared to Cambridge finding itself in the state tournament field for the first time in school history. The Bluejays were definite underdogs in Sectional 3 yet beat Southwest Wisconsin Activities League champion Darlington in the semifinals and then turned back Wisconsin Flyway Conference winner Lomira in overtime in the finals. Cambridge, New Glarus and Marshall finished 8-2 to share the Capitol South Conference championship and coach Alex Ranney's squad then beat two solid teams at the regional level in Fennimore and Parkview before its impressive sectional victories. Cambridge relies on a deliberate style that features five players averaging between 7.3 and 11.4 points per game. Senior forward Cal Nottested leads the way at 11.3 ppg. Bonduel finished second to Aquinas in last year's D4 state final and has three key performers from that squad back in senior [player_tooltip player_id='2391085' first='Ryan' last='Westrich'], the Player of the Year in the Central Wisconsin East Conference, along with the talented junior tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='2387960' first='Quinn' last='Wesenberg'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2386363' first='Carter' last='Moesch']. <br><br><strong>My Pick: </strong>Bonduel<br><br><strong>15 minutes after completion of Bonduel vs. Cambridge<br>#2 Milwaukee Juneau (26-1) vs. #3 Regis (23-5)</strong><br><br>Milwaukee Juneau has been the top-ranked team among Division 4 schools all season and boasts one of the truly elite players in the state in junior [player_tooltip player_id='2194315' first='Dooney' last='Johnson'] (6-5), the Player of the Year in the Milwaukee City Gold Conference, a Gonzaga recruit and a player averaging 27.1 points per game. Juneau will call on its standing as a City Conference school with pride this weekend as the league has not won a state crown since Milwaukee King won the Division 1 crown in 2004. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2045272' first='Takis' last='Tyler'] (17.7 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2400094' first='Jaden' last='Hardiman'] (17.2 ppg) also are key players for Juneau, which is making its first trip ever to the state tournament. Regis has a bunch of terrific long-distance shooters led by senior [player_tooltip player_id='2375323' first='Blake' last='Risler'] (28.0 ppg), a 6-foot-3 wing player who had 56 points in the Ramblers' regional-final win over Luther. Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2615520' first='DJ' last='Cooper'] (18.7 ppg) joined Risler on the first-team all-league squad in the Western Cloverbelt Conference. <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Milwaukee Juneau<br><br><strong>D4 State Championship Game<br><br>My Pick:</strong> Milwaukee Juneau over Bonduel<br><br>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br><br><strong>Friday's Games<br><br>Division 5<br><br>9:05 a.m. -- #1 Reedsville (26-3) vs. #4 Sheboygan Lutheran (23-6)</strong><br><br>Although Reedsville and Sheboygan Lutheran are members of the Big East Conference, the two schools did not play during the regular season. Reedsville won the Big East North title while Sheboygan Lutheran finished second to Oostburg in the Big East South. Both teams played challenging schedules and will enter the state tournament battle tested. Reedsville senior [player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'] (21.4 ppg) is a quick, smart and exceptionally competitive lead guard who plays with tremendous passion. He is the son of Reedsville coach Ron Prochnow. [player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'] picked up Player of the Year laurels in the Big East North. Sheboygan Lutheran lost to Cochrane-Fountain City in last year's D5 title game and returns several key performers, led by senior forward and St. Norbert College recruit [player_tooltip player_id='2224503' first='Brennen' last='Hackbarth'] (21.8 ppg). Sheboygan Lutheran has some stellar guard play that could somewhat neutralize [player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'] as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2562463' first='McCoy' last='Michael'] (13.4 ppg) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2509476' first='Oliver' last='Leibham'] (12.8 ppg) are quick and talented in their own right. Sheboygan Lutheran got a big boost late in the season with the return of senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2641634' first='Zach' last='Leonhard'] (12.1 ppg), a starter a year ago. <br><br><strong>My Pick: </strong>Sheboygan Lutheran<br><br><strong>15 minutes after completion of Reedsville vs. Sheboygan Lutheran<br>#2 Prentice (25-3) vs. #3 Southwestern (23-6)</strong><br><br>Prentice got a couple of foul shots with under 10 seconds left from senior [player_tooltip player_id='2629213' first='Aidan' last='Hause'] (17.0 ppg) to beat Turtle Lake 60-58 in the sectional finals. The Marawood North Conference champions boast a pair of first-team all-league performers in Hause and senior [player_tooltip player_id='2412829' first='Evan' last='Lord'] (6-2). Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2629234' first='Hagan' last='Isaacson'] (6-1), [player_tooltip player_id='3021815' first='Matti' last='Heikkinen'] (6-2) and [player_tooltip player_id='3021816' first='Hardy' last='Hueckman'] (5-10) also are key performers for the Buccaneers. Southwestern trailed virtually the entire game in its sectional-final against Assumption, but the Wildcats ratcheted up their defense in the second half and got two free throws from [player_tooltip player_id='3022264' first='Remi' last='Lawrence'] with under a minute left to pull out the triumph and earn the school's first trip to the state tournament since 1988. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2551616' first='Aiden' last='Keleher'] (16.0 ppg) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2822992' first='Carsen' last='Splinter'] (15.7 ppg) lead the way for coach Clint Nemitz's squad. <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Prentice<br><br><strong>D5 State Championship Game<br><br>My Pick:</strong> Prentice over Sheboygan Lutheran<br><br>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br><br><strong>DIVISION 2<br><br>1:35 p.m. -- #1 Slinger (24-4) vs. #4 McFarland (23-5)</strong><br><br>Slinger is playing like a team on a mission as the Owls have been dominant in the playoffs thus far, beating Kewaskum and Nicolet at the regional level before downing Port Washington and Notre Dame at the sectional round. The Owls of coach Alex Lavine are led by the Kohnen brother tandem of junior [player_tooltip player_id='2398448' first='Joey' last='Kohnen'] (20.5 ppg) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2398448' first='Joey' last='Kohnen'] (16.2 ppg). The Kohnen brothers own multiple NCAA Division I scholarship offers, including from the University of Wisconsin. [player_tooltip player_id='1874955' first='Brett' last='Palm'] (8.1 ppg), Bryon Fogle (10.1 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2508415' first='Jude' last='Siikarla'] (6.0 ppg) also play big roles for Slinger, which won the rugged North Shore Conference title. McFarland played at an elite level in the second half of its sectional-final victory over New Berlin West, turning a close game at halftime into an 86-60 runaway behind 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists from junior [player_tooltip player_id='2140913' first='Eli' last='Krueger'], a versatile 6-foot-9 forward who owns DI offers from Green Bay, South Dakota State and Toledo.<br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Slinger<br><br><strong>15 minutes after completion of Slinger vs. McFarland<br>#2 West Salem (25-4) vs. #3 Whitefish Bay (22-6)</strong><br><br>Whitefish Bay is a member of the North Shore Conference and finished ahead of Nicolet, Homestead and Hartford, among others, in the final league standings. That says plenty right there. The Blue Dukes are tested and talented. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2140905' first='Colin' last='Julien'] (18.5 ppg) is a stellar prospect as an athletic and skilled 6-foot-4 win in the 2027 class. Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2466054' first='Mace' last='Miskel'] (12.4 ppg), junior sharpshooter Jack Broderson (12.0 ppg) and senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2500873' first='Marcus' last='Webb'] (13.9 ppg) also are key performers for coach Ryan Fiet's squad. West Salem came from behind to beat Menomonie in the sectional final after posting earlier playoff wins over Mississippi Valley Conference powers Onalaska and La Crosse Central. The Panthers won the Coulee Conference title and are led by senior [player_tooltip player_id='2423288' first='Tyson' last='Labus'] (15.9 ppg), a 6-foot-6 forward and UW-Superior recruit.<br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Whitefish Bay<br><br><strong>D2 State Championship Game<br><br>My Pick:</strong> Slinger over Whitefish Bay<br><br>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br><br><strong>DIVISION 1<br><br>6:35 p.m. -- #1 Wisconsin Lutheran (28-0) vs. #4 Appleton North (24-4)</strong><br><br>Wisconsin Lutheran is back for a chance to win its third straight WIAA state title. The Vikings have lost two games over the past three seasons and won the D2 crown in 2024 and the D1 title in 2025. Northern Iowa recruit [player_tooltip player_id='1552512' first='Zavier' last='Zens'] (23.6 ppg) leads the way for the state's lone undefeated team. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2140949' first='Kager' last='Knueppel'] (16.4 ppg) is a 6-foot-10 forward with a smooth shooting touch and the length needed to mess things up for opponents trying to score. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2613959' first='Kinston' last='Knueppel'] (10.0 ppg) has made solid strides in his game and is another key performer along with junior lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='2412809' first='Riley' last='Walz'] (8.0 ppg) and junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2839409' first='Jamail' last='Sewell'] (5.3 ppg). Appleton North shared the Fox Valley Association championship with Kaukauna and then won the rubber match with the Ghosts in a tight sectional final. Appleton North has played a challenging schedule and boasts senior standouts [player_tooltip player_id='1561908' first='Grant' last='Hardy'] (14.4 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='1561874' first='Nathan' last='Ramus'] (11.8 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='1561879' first='Will' last='Sweeney'] (12.6 ppg). Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2447768' first='Matt' last='Rosplochowski'] (16.5 ppg) is one of the state's better sophomore prospects. <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> Wisconsin Lutheran<br><br><strong>15 minutes after completion of Wisconsin Lutheran vs. Appleton North<br>#2 De Pere (25-3) vs. #3 Madison Memorial (26-2)</strong><br><br>Two of the elite Division 1 programs in the state over the last 15 to 20 years play in this enticing state semifinal. De Pere was running on all cylinders in its 97-74 sectional-final win over a solid Brookfield East squad. The Redbirds have a balanced team led by junior [player_tooltip player_id='2502918' first='Will' last='Krueger'] (17.1 ppg), the Player of the Year in the Fox River Classic Conference. Champions of the FRCC, De Pere also gets plenty of production from seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2400483' first='Jack' last='Bookter'] (14.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2400924' first='Noah' last='Maniscalco'] (15.5 ppg). Keep an eye on sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2618950' first='Silas' last='Cohen'] (9.7 ppg), a rising star in the 2028 class. Madison Memorial is making its first trip to the Kohl Center for the state tournament since 2017 after nipping Big Eight Conference rival Verona in the sectional final. The Spartans are a senior-dominated squad led by [player_tooltip player_id='1756988' first='Anthony' last='Miller'] (6-0), [player_tooltip player_id='2495043' first='Andrew' last='Braun'] (6-2) and [player_tooltip player_id='1561947' first='Caleb' last='Liggon'] (6-5). <br><br><strong>My Pick:</strong> De Pere<br><br><strong>D1 State Championship Game<br><br>My Pick:</strong> Wisconsin Lutheran over De Pere<br><br><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->