State Boys Basketball Preview: Division 3
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014 -- 6:25 AM
The 99th Annual WIAA Boys Basketball State Championships will take place this Thursday-Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison. Here's a preview of the Division 3 field...Friday, March 14
9:05 a.m. 3 Roncalli (25-1) vs. Brown Deer (21-5)
3 Elk Mound (25-1) vs. Lodi (25-1) - will begin approximately 25 minutes following the previous game.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Last year?s runner-up Lodi qualifies for the third straight season after making the school?s first-ever appearance in 2012. The Blue Devils earned the opportunity to continue their quest for a championship by upending Marshall by the narrowest of margins, 42-41, in the Middleton Sectional final. They won the North Division title of the Capitol conference this season. Roncalli has lost in the semifinals in each of its four experiences at State, three of which came consecutively from 2005-2007. The Jets most recent appearance came in 2009. They return to the tournament field with a 65-50 victory over Little Chute in the Menasha Sectional final. The Jets are the champions of the Olympian Conference this season. Elk Mound is back in the State Tournament for the first time in 20 years, having made its last appearance in 1994. Its only other previous experience came in 1987. The Mounders were State runners-up in each of those two previous appearances, in Class C in 1987 and Division 3 in 1994. Their return to the tournament comes on the heels of a 48-37 victory over Prescott in the Eau Claire North Sectional final. The Mounders are the Dunn-St. Croix Conference champion. Brown Deer is also making its third appearance in the State tourney. The Falcons? most recent experience came in 2002. They fell in the semifinals that season and in their first-ever appearance in 1982. They earned their berth this season with a 63-53 triumph over Ripon in the Whitefish Bay Sectional final. The Falcons won the East Division of the Woodland Conference this season.
STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR: The State Tournament will be televised live in our area on WAOW-TV channel 9 in Wausau, WXOW-TV channel 19 in La Crosse, and WQOW-TV channel 18 in Eau Claire.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.