Boys hoops teams getting mad for March
It’s the mooost wonderful tiiiime of the year.
No, I’m not talking about Christmas or college football bowl week.
Of course I’m referring to the pure insanity, excitement and Oscar-caliber drama that is March Madness.
Whether it’s high school or college hoops, it’s winner-take-all, game-on-the-line fun every single night, and there’s no time for excuses or bad shooting nights.
The crowds are a little bit louder, the defensive intensity is a lot higher and loose balls become monkey piles for possession.
While the opening rounds usually aren’t the most competitive, Tuesday night saw a closely contested game and an absolute blowout.
In Union Grove, the third-seeded Broncos needed overtime to stop the pesky Delavan-Darien Comets, and in Burlington, Catholic Central was clearly head and shoulders above University Lake School.
Union Grove clung to a 46-42 lead after three quarters and went up 50-44 in the fourth. But the Comets rallied with a 6-0 run to tie things at 50-50 before going ahead, 52-50, with two minutes left.
But 6-foot-7 center Alex Van Dyke, the best big man in the area, scored with a minute left to knot things at 52-52.
In overtime, Delavan took a brief 55-54 lead, but the Grove sealed the victory with a 10-5 run for the 64-60 win.
In the extra period, Grant Beck, Zack Melendrez, Matthew Torres and Jack Pettit were solid from the line, and Van Dyke and Beck contributed big buckets.
Union Grove now must travel to Wilmot, a team that’s had the Grove’s number with two victories this year.
However, many people believe the Grove is a team on the rise, as they recently knocked off conference champion Lake Geneva Badger and have won four straight games and six of eight.
Van Dyke was a beast again Tuesday night with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Zac Melendrez scored a season-high 22 points with four three-pointers.
The Broncos certainly have the size and athleticism to compete with anyone, and Van Dyke is dominating the inside with 15 points and eight rebounds per game.
Expect the Broncos to potentially pull the upset at Wilmot, but beating second-ranked Wilmot and the No. 1 Waterford Wolverines will be a tall order.
Waterford also beat the Grove twice. The Grove and Waterford could face each other in a regional final.
BOLD PREDICTION: Waterford will beat Wilmot Friday, setting up a game with the Grove.
New-look Wolverines
Speaking of Waterford, the Wolverines will have the luxury of waiting until the regional final to play basketball, which will be against Westosha Central, a team that beat Elkhorn Tuesday.
Waterford has had a week off since its last game, a 54-47 loss at home where Badger clinched the conference title.
Waterford, a gritty, gutty team that lets its guards score off pick-and-rolls and top-of-the-key screens, boasts the services of star point guard Trace Hunsucker, who is the floor general and leads the team in scoring at 12.5.
After the abrupt departure of Collin Chart, who was leading the team in rebounding and was third in scoring, the new-look Wolverines decided to give Chris Saltzmann a more prominent role in the offense.
The 6-foot-3 Saltzmann has stepped up, with 28-point games against both Westosha and Elkhorn.
Finally, Ross Gunderson and Drew Blair are serious threats from outside, and the Wolverines may be able to take advantage of their bracket as they won’t face a ranked team until the sectional finals.
Unfortunately, that ranked team would be Stoughton (19-3), the state’s No. 4 team.
BOLD PREDICTION: Hunsucker will emerge as one of the best players with a couple big games.
Banged-up Demons a week healthier
It will take all of the King’s horses and all of his men for the Demons to pull off the upset at Sun Prairie Friday.
It will take their best game of the season for No. 10 Burlington to knock off No. 7 Sun Prairie, a 13-9 team that plays in the state’s second-best conference, the Big Eight, and features former Marquette recruit Nick Noskowiak.
Burlington will have its hands full with Noskowiak, who has recently battled with depression issues and de-committed from Marquette. For the season, he leads the Big Eight with 21.6 points.
It’s a Division 1 year for the Demons, meaning that they are over the 2,000-student enrollment cutoff.
Burlington, a team that plays in a D2 conference but must be forced to be the proverbial small fish in a big pond (Sun Prairie has 2,100 students), will have matchup problems with larger schools.
The Demons belong in Division 2, and hopefully the WIAA can start realizing this and keeping Burlington in D2 even if they have 1,203 students.
Especially with the four state teams now (it should still be eight), there’s no reason a Burlington team should be facing a team like Madison Memorial (1,800 students, ranked No. 6 in D1), in its second playoff game.
Memorial plays in a much stronger conference than the Southern Lakes, against large Division 1 schools with loads of talent to choose from.
You’re talking about the main hoops power from the state’s second-biggest city battling a school from a town with a population of 10,000.
A similar matchup, Lake Geneva Badger vs. Memorial, occurred in 2008, but it was in the state quarterfinals in Madison like it should’ve been.
If Burlington can find a way to beat Sun Prairie, the Demons will battle second-seeded Memorial in a regional final.
Gone are the D1 days of Burlington playing Kenosha Tremper, Bradford or Mukwonago before having to travel to the Madison area for sectionals or state.
It’s a shame, and I hope it gets fixed, but let’s look at the Demons.
Guard Brad Burling is out, and starting point guard Nick Klug is playing through pain.
But Ty Wiemer is back, and Burlington’s depth shined through in a 66-57 victory over Westosha Central Feb. 26 in the home finale.
Four Demons scored in double figures, led by Nathaniel Sibley’s 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Cal Tully added 13 points, Nick Klug scored 11 and Frankie Hozeska added 10.
Wiemer also scored nine in his return.
While Hozeska is the most talented scorer on the team, Burlington is most dangerous when players share the ball and everyone’s scoring.
Against Westosha, seven players scored and the Demons hit five 3-pointers.
Burlington will have to play its game of high-tempo, dynamic offense and pressure defense to have a chance in a hostile environment Friday.
BOLD PREDICTION: Win or lose, the Burlington-Sun Prairie game Friday will be decided by five or less points.
Toppers ready to make run?
The Catholic Central boys opened the playoffs with a bang Tuesday night at home against No. 6 University Lake School.
The game was no contest, as the Toppers held ULS to single digits in each quarter in a 63-25 romp.
Brandon Vande Hei scored a season-high 21 points, including five triples. Ben Heiligenthal added 16 points, and Shan Gill tallied 12 points and five rebounds.
Senior leader Gavin Foote returned from injury and knocked down a jumper. He looked nearly back to 100 percent.
Only in the Division 5 playoffs can you have eight wins, earn a No. 3 seed and blow out your playoff opponent by nearly 40 points.
The Toppers play some of the best Division 3 and 4 teams in the state, and ULS just doesn’t see good competition.
With everyone seemingly back to full strength, can the Toppers make a run?
Absolutely.
Though other teams have higher seeds than the Toppers, Catholic Central wouldn’t face a ranked D5 team until the sectional final.
Once again, the Toppers’ regular season meetings with the likes of Diamond Stone are paying off.
Look out for the Toppers.
BOLD PREDICTION: Catholic Central will advance to sectionals.
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