WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview....Division 5

Wednesday, March 16th, 2022 -- 12:55 PM

The 106th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament will take place this Thursday-Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison....Here's a preview of the Division 5 field.....

Friday, March 18

Division 5*

#1 Randolph (26-2) vs. #4 Gibraltar (19-10) – 9:05 a.m.

#2 Bangor (24-4) vs. #3 Hurley (24-4)*

Saturday, March 19

Division 5 Championship Game - 11:05 a.m.

*Note: Subsequent games of each session will begin approximately 15 minutes following the previous game.

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

ABOUT THE DIVISION 5 FIELD: Top-seeded Randolph returns to State for the 16th time. The Rockets own the distinction of having won the most titles of any school in the membership with 10. They won four straight Division 4 titles from 2002-05 to go with titles in 1996, 1998, 2007 as well back-to-back championships in 2010-11 and another in Division 5 in their most recent appearance in 2013. They also added a runner-up finish in 1997. The Rockets are the champions of the West Division of the Trailways Conference this year. In qualifying this season, they escaped the Fond du Lac Sectional final with a 43-41 win in overtime against Cambria-Friesland the same day the Randolph girls basketball team captured the Division 5 title. Second-seeded Bangor also needed overtime to advance from its sectional, defeating Southwestern 79-74 in the final played at Prairie du Chien. The Cardinals will appear at State for the fourth time overall and for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2018-19, winning  the championship in 2018. During the regular season, they  placed atop the Scenic Bluffs Conference standings. We dialed back the clock 73 years to find the last time Hurley qualified for the State Tournament. The Northstars, the #3 seed, are making their fifth appearance overall. They won the State championship in 1949 when there was only one division in the Tournament Series, downing La Crosse Logan 37-36 in the title game. They finished third in their first-ever appearance in 1943 when the WIAA conducted a third-place game, and they were runner-up to Beloit Memorial in 1947. In addition, they lost in the quarterfinals in 1948 but won the consolation round title back when that was part of the State Tournament schedule. The Northstars  are the champions of the Indianhead Conference this season, and they will head south to the Kohl Center following a 41-38 win over Athens in the Chequamegon Sectional final. Fourth-seeded Gibraltar makes its first appearance in the State Tournament. The Vikings’ improbable berth in the semifinals as the fifth seed in the Pulaski Sectional culminated with a 55-49 conquest of Columbus Catholic. The Vikings finished fifth in the Packerland Conference this season.

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