Boys D1-D2 Regionals (3/2)

Four Division I teams and five Division II team get set to hit the hard wood as the WIAA playoffs get underway. La Crosse's Logan and Central High Schools will host first round games, while Holmen and Tomah will travel. In Division II, Black River Falls has a bye, #4 Sparta hosts #5 Ellsworth, #3 Onalaska hosts #6 West Salem and #2 Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau hosts #7 Durand.

La Crosse Central hosts Watertown in the first round. Watertown is led by Des Smith, who averaged 21 points per game for the Goslings. Smith is taller than anyone on the Central roster, so that presence in the paint could be hard on the Red Raiders. Ryan Ledvina averages well into the double digits, so he'll need to show a strong presence on the court.

La Crosse Logan also hosts a first round game, this one a #8 seed versus #9 seed Sauk Prairie. Garrett Schwarz is the go to player on the Eagles, as Schwarz averages nearly 19 points per game. The Rangers have Trevor Jorgenson down low, a formitable presence, 16 points per game. Trevor looks to have a two inch high advantage on any other player on the floor.

Holmen travels to Waunakee, as the Warriors have a deep bench, as eight players have played in 16 or more of their 20 games, and they have an additional 12 players past that. Zach Ripley and Mitch Roelke each average over 10 points per game, and six more players average five or more points per game (not surprisingly, those eight players are also the eight who have seen time in most of the games this season). The Vikings can not afford to get into a fast paced up and down game, as Waunakee looks to have too many options.

#15 seed Tomah travels to Madison East, who is led by UW-Milwaukee commit Marquis Mason. Mason averages a double-double per game, with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Mason is accented by Nimrod Hilliard IV, who averages 12 points and six assists per game. The Purgolders have nine players who have played in 75% or more of the games this season, and allbut tow players have seen time in half or more of the games. If Tomah can get to Mason and Hilliard, they'll have a chance, but they must shut those players down.

In Division II, the action is all right here in the Coulee Region.

#2 seed Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau hosts #7 seed Durand. G-E-T has been a hot and cold team this season. Last friday they beat Black River Falls by 15 in Black River Falls, but two weeks prior to that, they lost by 18 to Arcadia. Compounding the interesting levels of this game, is Durand's season versus common opponents. The Panthers lost by four to Sparta, and by ten to Black River Falls, though they did lose by 27 to Arcadia. I just don't see this as a game to sleep on, and G-E-T can't afford to overlook this game.

#3 seed Onalaska hosts #6 seed West Salem in the closest contest I've seen (only 10 miles seperate the two schools). Thanks to the close proximity, there are a few common opponents. Onalaska has played G-E-T, Arcadia and Black River Falls this season, losing only to Black River Falls. Onalaska has had some close tough losses this season, with six of the 10 losses coming in games lost by five or less points.

#4 seed Sparta hosts #5 seed Ellsworth, in a had game to read. Neither team has done paricularly well this season, both finishing in the lower half of their respective conferences. Both teams have had their mistakes and misfortunes this season, so taking the game one play at the time will be big for both. Ellsworth will be hampered by the 120 miles seperating the two towns, that much travel time will not be beneficial.