WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview - Division 2

Friday, March 5th, 2021 -- 8:13 AM

The 105th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament continues today thru Saturday at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse and today and Saturday at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh.  Here's a preview of the Division 2 field....

Saturday, March 6

Division 2 - La Crosse Center,  La Crosse, Wis.

Semifinals

#1 Onalaska (18-0) vs. #4 Xavier (23-4) - 9:05 a.m.

#2 Pewaukee (25-3) vs. #3 Lake Mills (23-5) -12:25 p.m.

Championship Game

Winner of Semifinals - 6:35 p.m.

ABOUT THE DIVISION 2 FIELD:  Onalaska is the #1 seed in the bracket. The Hilltoppers are returning to State for the 10th time overall and for the first time since 2013. They have three State titles on their resume. They won the  Class A championship in 1988 and Division 2 titles in 1992 and 2012. They earned their berth this year with a convincing 49-23 victory over Rice Lake in the sectional final hosted by the Hilltoppers. They are the champions of the Mississippi Valley Conference this season. Pewaukee is the #2 seed after capturing the crown of the Woodland Conference during the regular season and advancing to the State semifinals with a 76-63 triumph over Wisconsin Lutheran in the sectional final hosted by the Pirates. They qualify for State for the second time. The only other State experience came in 2001 when the Pirates finished runner-up in Division 2. Third-seeded Lake Mills qualifies for the first time since its only other appearance in the State Tournament in 2017, which resulted in a loss in the Division 3 semifinals. The L-Cats are fresh off a tightly contested 56-55 road win over Monroe in the sectional final. The are the runners-up in the North Division of the Capitol Conference this season. Xavier is the fourth seed in its fifth appearance at State. The Hawks won the Division 3 championship in their last appearance in 2017. Prior to that, they settled for back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2016, and lost in the semifinals in 2009. As a former member of WISAA, the Hawks won titles in 1963 and 1995, and finished runner-up on five other occasions. The Hawks are the champions in the Bay Conference this year. They defeated Seymour 78-61 in the sectional final played at Xavier.

STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR:  The State Tournament will be televised live in our area on WAOW-TV in Wausau, WXOW-TV in La Crosse, and WQOW-TV in Eau Claire.  The championships will also be streamed on the statewide network station websites. Also, download the Magic of March app for live streaming video, scores, highlights and more about the WIAA State basketball tournaments. Live coverage of the tournaments on iOS or Android phones and tablets are also available on the app.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.