The WIAA high school boys basketball is set to begin next week with the first round of regional action on Tuesday, March 3. Below is a preview for Division 2 with a sectional by sectional breakdown.

For all the scores, streams, and game previews, head over to the game pages listed at the links below.

To see my state tournament picks, scroll to the bottom.

1A Half-Sectional
#1 River Falls (18-6, Big Rivers co-champ, #1 in Bound Power Index)
#2 Rhinelander (21-3, Great Norther co-champ, #2 in Bound Power Index)
#3 Menomonie (16-8, #4 in Bound Power Index)
#4 New Richmond (14-9, #3 in Bound Power Index)

1B Half-Sectional
#1 Onalaska (20-3, Mississippi Valley champion, #1 in Bound Power Index, #3 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 La Crosse Central (20-4, #2 in Bound Power Index, #6 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#3 Fox Valley Lutheran (15-9, #4 in Bound Power Index)
#4 West Salem (20-4, Coulee champion, #3 in Bound Power Index, #8 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)

Robbie Angiulli, Wausau East (sr, UW-River Falls recruit) - 15.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg
Caleb Dahlke, Fox Valley Lutheran (sr) - 17.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Ryan Dalhoe, New London (jr) - 15.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.9 apg
Joseph Daly, New London (sr) - 23.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 5.0 apg
Devon Feck, Rhinelander (sr) - 19.1 ppg, 5.1 apg
Quinn Gerke, Tomah (jr) - 22.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg
Brody Graetz, River Falls (sr) - 20.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 7.0 apg
Gabe Heiges, Fox Valley Lutheran (sr) - 17.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg
Anthony Jones, La Crosse Central (jr)
Kayden Kaat, Sparta (sr) - 17.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg
Ian Kowal, Onalaska (sr) - 12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Tyler Kowal, Onalaska (soph) - 17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Tyson Labus, West Salem (sr, UW-Superior recruit) - 16.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Mason Lukasavage, Menasha (sr) - 17.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Drew McConkey, West Salem (jr) - 14.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
Gavin McRoberts, Onalaska (soph) - 11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Trevor Robert, Menomonie (jr) - 18.0 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.1 apg
Gabe Servais, La Crosse Central (jr)
Nick Stellrecht, New Richmond (sr) - 18.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.0 apg
Tayden Wilke, Menasha (jr) - 16.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg

The top half of the bracket consists of primarily Big Rivers and Great Northern squads with River Falls being the favorite. The Wildcats won a share of the Big Rivers conference title and are riding a five game win streak with victories over Rhinelander and La Crosse Central in there. Brody Graetz can make a big difference from his point guard position.

Onalaska is the overall favorite of this sectional as Craig Kowal’s group is balanced and has depth. The Hilltoppers were the outright champions of the Mississippi Valley Conference and play great team basketball on both ends of the court. Ian Kowal leads a group of seniors that mesh well with the very talented group of underclassmen that contribute.

With a limited number of first round games to choose from, I’ll take nine seed Rice Lake over eight seed Lakeland. The Warriors play in a much tougher Big Rivers conference and beat the lone Great Northern team they played this season. Also, Rice Lake got an win over 14-win New Richmond this week.

(Not a top 2-seed)

There are a few options here and my favorite two are teams out of the Bay Conference, New London and Fox Valley Lutheran. With New London traveling nearly three hours on a Tuesday night to West Salem, I am going to go with Fox Valley Lutheran as my choice.

The Foxes are good, play in a tough Bay Conference, and would only have to travel across the state on Regional Final Saturday. I think that makes a world of difference when talking trying to keep things as normal as possible. Seniors Gabe Heiges and Caleb Dahlke provide scoring power and senior leadership for a group that is littered with upperclassmen.

Emphasis on the word ‘potential’

West Salem v Onalaska in regional final: These two squared off in a regular season game last week and the Hilltoppers were victorious 81-66. West Salem is a good squad, with a no-nonsense coach in Shane Schmelling, that if they get by New London will be ready for a re-match come that regional final.

Fox Valley Lutheran v La Crosse Central in regional final: As mentioned, the travel from FVL to La Crosse Central is a 3+ hour jaunt on a Saturday. This would be a great Mississippip Valley v Bay conference matchup with a trip to sectionals on the line.

Onalaska v La Crosse Central in sectional semifinal: Onalaska swept the season series winning the two games by 11 and 12 points. In basketball a 12ish point victory could easily be a 3-4 point spread based on shot making/free throw making down the stretch. These two programs have played in the playoffs with state tournament aspirations a handful of times over the past few decades and this would be the latest chapter in that book.

River Falls v Rhinelander in sectional semifinal: This would be a rematch of a game that happened a week ago where River Falls won by a single point. Rhinelander won a share of the Great Northern title Thursday night with a double overtime win over Mosinee, and are coming into the playoffs on that high. In that first matchup between these two, Devon Feck was 9 of 14 from three for the Hodags and 10 of 17 from the field. The rest of the team was just 12 of 33 and 1 of 9 from three.

Onalaska

2A Half-Sectional
#1 Notre Dame (18-6, #1 in Bound Power Index, #10 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 West De Pere (18-6, #2 in Bound Power Index)
#3 Plymouth (17-7, #3 in Bound Power Index)
#4 Sheboygan South (15-9, #4 in Bound Power Index)

2B Half-Sectional
#1 Port Washington (23-1, Glacier Trails champion, #1 in Bound Power Index, #1 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 Slinger (20-4, North Shore champion, #2 in Bound Power Index, #2 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#3 Nicolet (15-9, #3 in Bound Power Index)
#4 Milwaukee Vincent (14-3, MCC-White co-champ, #6 in Bound Power Index)

Rashaad Davis, Nicolet (sr, Southern Utah recruit) - 21.1 ppg, 4.8 apg
Oyinpreye Dorgu, Ashwaubenon (sr, Northern Michigan recruit) - 15.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.4 apg
Bryson Fogle, Slinger (sr) - 10.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Patrick Greisen, West De Pere (sr, South Dakota football recruit) - 12.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.7 apg
AJ Hendricks, Notre Dame (jr) - 16.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Austin Hendricks, Notre Dame (jr) - 16.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg
Grady Karrels, Port Washington (sr) - 14.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.4 apg
Jack Kohnen, Slinger (jr) - 20.8 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 4.7 apg
Joey Kohnen, Slinger (soph) - 16.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Cal Loose, Port Washington (sr) - 18.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg
Deuce McDuffie, Nicolet (jr) - 16.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Nolan Pedrin, Sheboygan South (sr) - 16.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Carson Samson, West De Pere (sr) - 13.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.2 apg
Kayden Schultz, Plymouth (sr, Michigan Tech recruit) - 27.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.8 apg
Leo Weber, Notre Dame (sr) - 14.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.5 apg

Notre Dame would be considered the favorite in the top half despite splitting the season series with West De Pere. The Tritons finished the season on a tear, winning eight of the final nine games with the only loss coming to De Pere. Twin juniors AJ and Austin Hendricks are versatile guard that can score and facilitate and led a Tritons team that was challenged nightly down the stretch of the season.

It may seem wild to pick Slinger as the favorite in the bottom half when they are the two seed, have lost to one seed Port Washington, and have three more losses than said team. However, the Owls have two elite game changers in brothers Joey and Jack Kohnen and a very good roster behind them. Slinger's schedule was more beneficial in terms of challenging the Owls for those later round games as well.

Like all the other division 2 sectionals, theres way less games in the first round compared to the lower three divisions. Therefore I’ll be taking another nine seed Ashwaubenon over eight seed Green Bay East. East is without quite a few players stemming from eligibility issues surrounding competing in a non-WIAA basketball event in-season. Ashwaubenon plays in a challenging FRCC and has a Carson Dorgu leading the way.

(Not a top 2-seed)

Either three seed in this sectional has a serious chance of making the sectionals with how they are playing at this point in time.

Plymouth has won ten of its last eleven games with the lone loss being a one-point defeat at the hands of Port Washington. The Panthers rattled off wins over Catholic Memorial, Oostburg, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran.

However, my dark horse, if they can be called that, would be Nicolet. The Knights are meshing at the right time and have won eight straight games with victories over Dominican, Maple Grove (MN), Slinger, Racine. St Cats, Mosinee, and Hartford. On top of that, Nicolet played one of the most challenging schedules in the entire state to ready themselves for those sectional games down the road. The cherry on top is having the individual talent such as Rashaad Davis and Deuce McDuffie to lean in on in those late game moments.

Emphasis on the word ‘potential’

Plymouth v West De Pere in regional final: As mentioned above, Plymouth is playing extremely well at the right moment. To get to a sectional, they’d likely have to travel to the Phantoms and get by a squad that is challenged and plays defense at a high rate. Plymouth has a trump card in senior Kayden Schultz, so seeing him against that Phantom defense would be a fun matchup.

Nicolet v Slinger in regional final: The depth in Division 2 is pretty solid if this is a regional final game that has the individual talent that could be showcased on the Kohl Center floor. These two North Shore foes split their season series and played tough non-con schedules. Slinger will be rocking next Saturday night with this game on the docket.

Slinger v Port Washington in sectional semifinal: These two teams have been ranked in the top two of Division 2 a handful of weeks, swapping spots here and there. This would be an incredible rematch from a game that happened earlier in the season that resulted in a one point Pirates victory in early January. The winner of this one would be the state tournament representative out of this sectional in my opinion.

Slinger

3A Half-Sectional
#1 New Berlin West (21-3, #1 in Bound Power Index, #4 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 Beaver Dam (18-6, Badger-Large co-champ, #4 in Bound Power Index)
#3 Wauwatosa West (18-6, Greater Metro co-champ, #2 in Bound Power Index, #7 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#4 Sauk Prairie (17-7, Badger-Small co-champ, #6 in Bound Power Index)

3B Half-Sectional
#1 McFarland (19-5, Badger-Small co-champ, #2 in Bound Power Index)
#2 Mount Horeb (19-5, Badger-Small co-champ, #1 in Bound Power Index)
#3 Monroe (17-7, #4 in Bound Power Index)
#4 Milton (14-10, #3 in Bound Power Index)

Xavier Allen, Milwaukee Lutheran (sr) - 25.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.3 apg
Parker Blank, Beaver Dam (sr) - 14.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg
Collin Branch, Milton (sr) - 23.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.8 apg
Boden Breunig, Sauk Prairie (sr) - 17.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.9 apg
Jalen Brown, Wauwatosa West (jr) - 21.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 6.0 apg
Alex Chapman, Mount Horeb (jr)
Jayce Cook, New Berlin West (jr) - 19.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Garrett Crull, McFarland (jr)
Jayden Doedens, DeForest (soph) - 16.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Tyler Evenson, Waukesha West (sr) - 16.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Graeson Geiger, Fort Atkinson (jr)
Henry Gruetzmacher, Brookfield Central (sr, Green Bay commit) - 23.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.8 bpg
Jacob Hibner, Stoughton (sr, Minnesota-Duluth recruit) - 21.6 ppg
Evan Kern, New Berlin West (sr, UW-Stevens Point recruit) - 16.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.0 apg
Matthew Kloskey, Wauwatosa West (sr, Green Bay recruit) - 23.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.7 apg
Eli Krueger, McFarland (jr)
Josh Manchester, Mount Horeb (sr)
Brooks Ohmen, DeForest (sr) - 16.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.7 apg
Luke Paddock, Elkhorn (sr) - 24.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.5 apg
Evan Prusko, Brookfield Central (sr) - 16.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg
Carter Rivas, Baraboo (jr) - 21.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg
EJ Salettel, Beaver Dam (sr, Concordia-Wisconsin recruit) - 21.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 apg
Logan Taylor, Monroe (sr) - 16.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
Derek Williams, Waukesha North (soph) - 16.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.4 apg

This sectional has so many contenders in it, that I’m not sure there is a true favorite in the sense of the word. The top half has has powerhouses from three different conferences whereas the bottom half is mostly Badger conference teams.

Watertown has not won a game since January tenth of this year and has just five wins on the season. However, the Goslings have been competitive, losing eight of their last nine games by less than 15 points. That may seem like a lot, but when looking at a box score, a 15-point game could very realistically be much closer than that. They’ve pushed Waunake, Milton, and Beaver Dam to the brink int he past month. For that reason, I’m going to pick the ten seed Watertown Goslings as my first round upset win over DeForest.

(Not a top 2-seed)

This could be a handful of teams as Greater Metro teams Wauwatosa West (3 seed) and Brookfield Central (5 seed) are extremely talented squads and could make a run at not just the sectionals, but the state championship.

For that reason, I’m going to swerve and choose five seed Waukesha West. The Wolverines play in a Classic Eight conference that consists of plenty of Division 1 teams. Also, West is 8-2 outside of that conference this year. Senior Tyler Evenson can light it up and fuel a run to a regional championship and sectional birth.

Emphasis on the word ‘potential’

Brookfield Central v Sauk Prairie in regional semifinal: The top half of this sectional is incredibly deep. This matchup is the first game of the playoffs for both squads. Sauk is physical, deep, and does things well off the ball. Brookfield Central is battle-tested and has big man Henry Gruetzmacher in the middle.

Brookfield Central v New Berlin West in regional final: This would be another great matchup in this regional with a clashing styles. Central plays through big man Gruetzmacher while West lights it up from beyond the arc.

Wauwatosa West v Beaver Dam in regional final: Beaver Dam is supposedly getting back to full strength at the right time and that is much needed. Neither of these teams dip too much into their bench so it will be a talent on talent matchup.

McFarland v Mount Horeb in sectional semifinal: This would be the third matchup between these two Badger-Small co-champs and rivals. They split the first two matchups, though senior scorer Josh Manchester did not play in that first matchup and Viking loss.

Brookfield Central v Wauwatosa West in sectional semifinal: If both of these teams can get through their gauntlet of a regional, they'll square off for a third time with the stakes upped. These two coaches and players know each other inside and out and it would make for a great Thursday night matchup if it comes to that point.

Wauwatosa West

4A Half-Sectional
#1 Whitefish Bay (18-6, #1 in Bound Power Index, #9 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 Golda Meir (19-3, MCC-Blue champion, #4 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#3 Milwaukee Academy of Science (9-14, #10 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#4 Catholic Memorial (11-13, #3 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)

4B Half-Sectional
#1 Waterford (21-3, Southern Lakes co-champ, #1 in Bound Power Index, #5 in Bound/Zaleski Media Poll)
#2 Martin Luther (13-11, #4 in Bound Power Index)
#3 Milwaukee Bay View (18-4, MCC-White co-champ, #7 in Bound Power Index)
#4 Greendale (18-6, #2 in Bound Power Index)

Jackson Albee, Catholic Memorial (jr) -
Jamir Batemon, Milwaukee Academy of Science (sr)
Jayce Brechtl, Waterford (sr, Carroll recruit) - 10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Anthony Brooks, Cudahy (sr) - 23.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.4 apg
D’Anthony Brown, Milwaukee Academy of Science (jr)
Donovan Calloway, Wawuatosa East (jr) - 19.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.2 apg
Kaleb Colbert, Golda Meir (sr) - 24.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg
Darryl Cooks, Milwaukee Bay View (sr)
Zavier Castillo, Greendale (sr) - 25.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3 apg
Keegan Degeorge, Waukesha South (jr) - 23.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Caden Gustafson, Waterford (sr, Northern Michigan recruit) - 22.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.4 apg
Azon Juarez-Quinn, Greenfield (sr) - 23.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.5 apg
Colin Julien, Whitefish Bay (jr) - 18.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.7 apg
Cooper Markee, Whitnall (sr, Bryant & Stratton recruit) - 23.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
Jcobi Mathis, St. Augustine Prep (jr) - 18.4 ppg
Bobby Raymond, Wilmot (sr) - 15.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg
Damariye Redmond, Martin Luther (sr) - 20.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.2 apg
Griff Schultz, Union Grove (sr) - 19.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Jakari Smith, Milwaukee Bradley Tech (sr) - 25.1 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 2.5 apg
Grant Sulik, Burlington (sr) - 12.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.3 apg
Gavin Valeri, Milwaukee Academy of Science (jr)
Marcus Webb, Whitefish Bay (sr) - 13.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg
McKhale Wesley, Shorewood (jr) - 17.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg

Whitefish Bay is the favorite in the top half of this sectional. The Blue Dukes finished second in the North Shore and with just six losses on the season. Those six losses came within nine points, with four of the losses being two-point defeats. Four different players can go off on any night for head coach Ryan Fiet, which makes it very difficult to guard, especially come playoff time.

Waterford would be the favorite as the top seed in the bottom. Caden Gustafson is a difference maker for the Wolverines, plain and simple. There is a lot of experience in this group as well, one that advanced all the way to the sectional final a season ago.

I think both of the eight/nine matchups could be upset alerts, so I’ll choose Eisenhower going on the road to Shorewood and pulling off that upset. The Lions most recent game was a two-point win over Pewaukee, but they also have close losses to Greendale, Racine Park, New Berlin West, and Germantown on the résumé.

(Not a top 2-seed)

There's a few options here as four seed Catholic Memorial has played a tough schedule, five seed Wauwatosa East has been playing very good basketball down the stretch, and Greendale, Whitnall, and Milwaukee Academy of Science could all be options as well. That speaks to the parity in this specific sectional.

If I’m going to choose one to get to the sectional based on the path ahead, I’ll go with Milwaukee Academy of Science. There was distraction around the team a few months ago that resulted in coaching suspensions, but the Novas play an independent schedule where they can pick and choose some very challenging non-conference opponents. On top of that, there are a handful of players from last year's state championship team that know what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Emphasis on the word ‘potential’

Milwaukee Academy of Science v Whitefish Bay in a sectional semifinal: Science is talented up and down the roster. Whitefish Bay can beat you from a number of different players. This would be a great Thursday night matchup.

Waterford v Greendale in regional final: Greendale played in a Woodland conference where they were tested throughout the season, likely why they sat second in our Power Index in this sectional. The matchup with Zavier Castillo and Caden Gustafson would be a top-notch battle between two of the best seniors in the state.

Waterford v Whitefish Bay in sectional final: If both top seeds can advance, this would be a phenomenal state qualifying matchup. Waterford advanced to this spot a season ago, while Whitefish Bay has matured throughout this year and accepted every challenge thrown their way.

Waterford

Slinger over Waterford
Wauwatosa West over Onalaska

Wauwatosa West over Slinger

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