WIAA State Boys Basketball Preview: Division 3
Tuesday, March 13th, 2018 -- 10:20 AM
The 103rd Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 15-17, at the Kohl Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Here's a preview of Division 3.....Thursday, March 15
Division 3
#1 Valders (23-3) vs. #4 Kettle Moraine Lutheran (22-5) - 1:35 p.m.
#2 East Troy (21-5) vs. #3 Prescott (24-2) will begin approximately 15 minutes following the previous game.
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 your source for live streaming video, scores, highlights and more about the WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament on iOS or Android phones and tablets.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Top-seeded Valders has advanced to the State tournament for the first time since the final year of three straight appearances from 1982-84, which also represents the total number of previous appearances for the Vikings. That run of appearances produced three State runner-up finishes in Class B. This year, they are the co-champions of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference with New Holstein. The Vikings upset former defending champion Xavier 59-57 in the final of the Appleton East Sectional to continue their journey toward the program’s first championship. Second-seeded East Troy is making its first appearance since 2015 and its fourth overall. The Trojans’ are attempting to move past the semifinals for the first time. They claimed the title in the Rock Valley Conference this year, and they beat Edgerton 66-53 in the Middleton Sectional final to advance to the State semifinals. Last year’s runner-up Prescott, the third seed, is back in the tournament field for the second year in a row and for the third time in the last four years after qualifying for the first time in 2015. The Cardinals remain in contention for their first State title following their 86-76 win over Wisconsin Dells in the Menomonie Sectional final. They are the champions of the Middle Border Conference this season. Fourth-seeded Kettle Moraine Lutheran is celebrating its first-ever appearance in the State tournament. The Chargers tied for the championship of the East Central Conference with Waupun this season. They navigated through the Whitefish Bay Sectional, which culminated with a 53-48 win over Waupun in the final.
THREE-POINT CHALLENGE: The WIAA will conduct the fourth 3-Point Challenge prior to Saturday’s championship games. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Kohl Center. The top two players per division were selected for the contest based on the best 3-point field goal percentage with a minimum of 75 attempts during the regular season. The contestants representing Division 3 are seniors Caleb Gracyalny of Clinton, who qualified in the event last year, and Ryan Steffes of New Holstein.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.