WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview - Division 3
Thursday, March 4th, 2021 -- 7:44 AM
The 105th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament will take place starting today thru Saturday at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse and Friday and Saturday at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh. Here's a preview of the Division 3 field....
Friday, March 5
Division 3 - Menominee Nation Arena, Oshkosh
Semifinals
#1 Racine St. Catherine’s (26-1) vs. #4 Wrightstown (24-4) - 10:45 a.m.
#2 Lake Country Lutheran (25-1) vs. #3 St. Croix Central (23-2) - 2:10 p.m.
Championship Game
Winner of Semifinals - 8:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Top-seeded Racine St. Catherine’s returns to State for the seventh time and for the first time since 2011. The Angels had an impressive run of success with six appearances in seven years from 2005-11. During that span, they won five championships. They won three straight State championships from 2005-07. The first of those was in Division 2 with the second two in Division 3. The Angels then won back-to-back titles in Division 3 in 2009-10 and finished runner-up in 2011. The Angels were a perennial power in the now defunct WISAA. They won nine titles and finished runner-up 11 times. The championships came in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1992 and 1993. This season, the Angels finished first in the Metro Classic Conference. They advanced from the sectional with an 84-73 win over the Milwaukee Academy of Science in the final held at Shoreland Lutheran. Second-seeded Lake Country Lutheran is bound for State for the first time in program history. The Lightning are the champions in the Midwest Classic Conference this winter. They punched their ticket to Oshkosh with a high-scoring 94-68 win over St. John’s NW Military Academies in the sectional final conducted at Lake Country Lutheran. St. Croix Central will also experience the State Tournament for the first time after defeating Northwestern 80-57 in the sectional final hosted by the Panthers. They are the 2021 champions of the Middle Border Conference. Fourth-seeded Wrightstown is the third program in the bracket making its first-ever appearance at State. The Tigers earn their berth by edging Brillion 55-54 in the final of the sectional played at Wrightstown. The Tigers tied Freedom for the championship of the North Eastern Conference this season.
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.