Sauk Prairie over Baraboo

Tonight was opening night of the WIAA playoffs and there aren't a ton of good early games and I picked the Sauk Prairie verse Baraboo game. These two teams are conference rivals and Baraboo was just a coupe games under .500 despite the fact that they won only two conference games.

This game didn't disappoint. Now this wasn't a match up of the most talented teams this game was still a very good one. Sauk seemed to have a handle on the game throughout but, they just couldn't put Baraboo away. Baraboo was actually able to take the lead with about five minutes left in the game but, they just didn't have the depth to sneak this game out.

Sauk really did it with a team effort as know one really got going until 5'9 junior Spencer Kostroski got things going late and a good portion of points from the line. Sauk did a nice job of knowing when to push the tempo and taking good shots. Sauk hit only three three point shots but,they didn't shoot a ton and did a nice job of driving and finding open team mates or slashing to the rim. While Sauk was a team effort Baraboo was really individual effort. 6'2 Baraboo junior Mason Peterson may of been the best player on the court but, at times he really forced things and took some bad shots. Peterson was able to use his ball handling to get around defenders and had a pair of nice and one baskets. On the inside 6'4 senior Paddy O'Rouke really battled and got some big baskets off put backs and buckets off of team mates passes. Late it was the three point shooting of 6'1 senior Spencer Klemm that kept Baraboo around but, in the end Sauk hit there free throws and Baraboo couldn't hit the threes.

Top Players 
Spencer Kostroski 5'9 junior Sauk Prairie- Doesn't look like much but, he's a player. When given the open three he's going to knock it down and he hit his free throws late. Had a 7-0 run of his own late in the game. Had some very nice drives where you could see that he was the quickest player on the court.

Mason Peterson 6'2 junior Baraboo- Really a nice point guard that handled the ball very well. Think he would be better suited to be on a team where he could just run the point and not need to score as much. Was able to drive the lane and finish through contact.

Paddy O'Rouke 6'4 senior Baraboo- Battled foul trouble all night long but, he really did battle on the offensive glass.

Box Score
Sauk Prairie 66- Kostroski 23 Dawson Evert 10 Josh Holler 9 Cole Miller 8 Trevor Wilkinson 7 Elijah Jorgensen 5 Carson Radl 4 Aidan Young 0 Devin Ballweg 0
Baraboo 60- Peterson 15 O'Rouke 14 Klemm 13 Connor Grogan 7 Austin Burkhalter 6 Justus Neuman 4 Caden Blum 1 Joe Stout 0 Caden Carpenter 0

Well the season is over for Baraboo but, the future is bright as they had numerous juniors and sophomores that saw some big minutes. Sauk will move on, unfortunately I don't see them beating Stoughton in the next round.

Week 14 Rankings

Well here we are with the regular season coming to an end and these are my final rankings of the season. Just don't see the reason to do rankings once the playoffs have started.

Division One
Vincent lost to Milwaukee Riverside in overtime and fall a spot to three. Brookfield Central was beaten pretty badly by Menomonee Falls and fall a spot as well to four. Kimberly lost to Oshkosh North and Neenah and drop all the way to eight. Arrowhead lost to Muskego and drop just behind them at 13. Racine Case lost to East Troy and Franklin and fall from the rankings and are replaced by Franklin.

1. Oshkosh North
2. Bay Port
3. Milwaukee Vincent
4. Brookfield Central
5. Milwaukee Riverside
6. Sun Prairie
7. Madison Memorial
8. Kimberly
9. Stevens Point
10. Oak Creek
11. Middleton
12. Muskego
13. Arrowhead
14. Eau Claire North
15. Franklin

Division Two
Pewaukee lost to Brown Deer and drop a couple spots to six. Stoughton lost to Madison Edgewood and drop all the way to 13 being there second consecutive lose. Mcfarland lost to Portage and Kaukauna lost to Fon du Lac with both teams dropping from the rankings being replaced by Medford and Rice Lake.

1. La Crosse Central
2. Milwaukee Washington
3. Beaver Dam
4. Cedarburg
5. Waunakee
6. Pewaukee
7. Luxemburg Casco
8. Onalaska
9. New Berlin Eisenhower
10. Brown Deer
11. Pulaski
12. Milwaukee Pius
13. Stoughton
14. Medford
15. Rice Lake

Division Three
GET lost to La Crosse Logan and fall a couple spots to six. Waupun lost to Ripon and drop to 10. Martin Luther lost to Dominican and sit tight at eight. Bloomer lost to Hayward and drop to 13. Westby lost to GET and fall to 15 while Lakeside Lutheran lost to Columbus and fell from the rankings. New Holstein checks in at 14.

1. Ripon
2. Xavier
3. Prescott
4. Prairie du Chien
5. Lake Mills
6. GET
7. Evansville
8. Martin Luther
9. Southern Door
10. Waupun
11. Adams Friendship
12. Valders
13. Bloomer
14. New Holstein
15. Westby

Division Four
Cochrane-Fountain City lost to Melrose Mindoro and The Prairie School lost to Racine St Catherines but, both sit put becasue the top four are so far ahead. Wabeno/Laona lost to Northland Pines and drop to nine. Stanley Boyd lost to Edgar and fall to 10. Laconia lost to Valders and Winnebago Lutheran and just barely hang on to the rankings at 15 Young Coggs Prep lost to Milwaukee North and drop just one spot to 13. Wild Rose lost to Almond Bancroft and Rosholt and fall from the rankings replaced by Spring Valley at 12. New Glarus lost to Lake Mills but, stay put at 14.

1. Darlington
2. Destiny
3. Cochrane Fountain City
4. The Prairie School
5. Marathon
6. Deerfield
7. Edgar
8. Eau Claire Regis
9. Wabeno/Laona
10. Stanley Boyd
11. Shiocton
12. Spring Valley
13. Young Coggs Prep
14. New Glarus
15. Laconia

Division Five
Barneveld lost to Black Hawk and fall to eight. Rio lost to Wayland Academy and Deerfield and drop all the way to 14. Loyal lost to Owen Withee and Eau Claire Regis falling from the rankings and are replaced by Hustisford.

1. Seneca
2. Bangor
3. Hilbert
4. Columbus Catholic
5. McDonnell Central
6. Shullsburg
7. Almond Bancroft
8. Barneveld
9. Drummond
10. Gresham
11. Alma/Pepin
12. Black Hawk
13. Pecatonica
14. Rio
15. Hustisford

Madison Memorial over Beloit

Originally I didn't plan on going to this game as I had planned on going to the Middleton verse Madison East game but, looking at standing wise this game was probably a better one to go to. Also gave me my first chance to watch Beloit play this year. 

I have to say that there just isn't a ton to say about this game because quite frankly it was a pretty boring game that lacked much scoring at all. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in Beloit. For a team that beat Middleton twice I really expected a little more. This Beloit team reminds me a lot of the past Madison West teams that seemed to have a ton of talent but, just couldn't put things together and just didn't play like a team. This was the first time that I've seen Beloit so I can't say this with total certainty but, they really relied on the three point shot and that just doesn't seem like that should be their game. Beloit really struggled from the outside and continued to shoot three after three. 

In the first half Memorial just couldn't buy a basket and this was probably the worst game that I've seen them play all year. The shots weren't falling they were turning the ball over and they weren't getting the second shot chances. Thankfully for Memorial their defense was their normal solid self as they limited Beloit to 14 first half points but, unfortunately Memorial had only 11 points. 6'8 senior Chris Knight really tied things together on the defensive side as he had probably close to 10 blocks and then in the second half Knight got things going in the second half. Knight was able to score in the paint in the second half using his size and quickness.Memorial did use their overall size as well going to 6'6 senior Jake Ferguson in the post at times when he was guarded by sub 6'0 defenders. In the end Beloit only scored 13 points in the second half and lost 42 to 27. 

Top Players 

Chris Knight 6'8 senior Madison Memorial- Knight was the dominater on the defensive end as always blocking shot after shot. He got things going in the second half on the block and doing his thing on the offensive glass. 

Jequan Pegeese 5'9 senior Beloit- One of the few Beloit players that was able to hit some outside shots and get things going. Was the only real consistent offense. 

Box Score 

Madison Memorial 42- Knight 15 Ferguson 9 Logan Knecht 5 Billy Wilson 4 Robert Bennett 4 Ian Brown 4 Matt Caropreso 1 Chase Danielson 0 Grayson Lehmann 0 Nick Caropreso 0 Elliot Grays 0 Cade Ellingson 0 Jack Krumbach 0 

Beloit 27- Pegeese 10 Drew Freitag 5 Fred Brown 4 Anthony Johnson 4 Trayvon Fair 2 Bryanth Farr 2 Migul Betancourt 0 Jadden McAtee 0 Jason Neal 0 JJ Chandler 0 Skyler Coleman 0 Kobe Yarbrough 0 Javis McClendon 0 

As I've said before and I'll say it again Madison Memorial is a team that needs to win ugly. They rely on their defense and their size to win and whatever scoring Knight can give them in the post. Right now I would say the chances of getting to state at 33% evenly with Sun Prairie and Middleton. The sectional is really up for grabs for all three teams. Beloit is a team that could probably pull an upset beating one of these top teams which would be Sun Prairie who they would play first. 

 

Week 13 Rankings

Week has ended  and it's Monday so time for another round of rankings and more then likely my final rankings as I don't necessarily see a reason to do the rankings because the tournament speaks for it self.

Division One
Kimberly dropped a game to Fond du Lac and fall a couple spots to four. Stevens Point was destroyed by Middleton, who in turned lost to Beloit, Point drops to 10 while Middleton falls to 12. Muskego lost to Franklin and drop just a spot to 13. Eau Claire North lost to Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire Memorial and drop a pair of spots to 15 but, hang on to the 15 spot.

1. Oshkosh North
2. Milwaukee Vincent
3. Brookfield Central
4. Kimberly
5. Bay Port
6. Arrowhead
7. Milwaukee Riverside
8. Sun Prairie
9. Madison Memorial
10. Stevens Point
11. Oak Creek
12. Middleton
13. Muskego
14. Racine Case
15. Eau Claire North

Division Two
Beaver Dam was upset by Wisconsin Lutheran and drop two spots to three. Pulaski lost to Green Bay Southwest and Bay Port and fall all the way to 12. Onalaska lost to La Crosse Central a tough one and fall just a spot to nine. Pius lost to Greendale and drop to 13. Kaukauna lost to Oshkosh North and hang on to the rankings because it was Oshkosh North.

1. La Crosse Central
2. Milwaukee Washington
3. Beaver Dam
4. Pewaukee 
5. Cedarburg
6. Waunakee
7. Luxemburg Casco
8. Stoughton
9. Onalaska
10. New Berlin Eisenhower
11. Brown Deer
12. Pulaski
13. Milwaukee Pius
14. Mcfarland
15. Kaukauna

Division Three
Southern Door lost to Luxemburg-Casco and fall to 12. Bloomer lost to GET and fall to 11. Westby lost to Prairie du Chien which is to be expected and fall just a spot to 13. New Holstein lost to Valders and fall from the rankings being replaced by Valders.

1. Ripon
2. Xavier
3. Prescott
4. Prairie du Chien
5. GET 
6. Lake Mills
7. Waupun
8. Martin Luther
9. Evansville
10. Southern Door
11. Bloomer
12. Adams Friendship
13. Westby
14. Lakeside Lutheran
15. Valders


Division Four
Regis lost to McDonell Central and drop a couple spots to Regis. Cedar Grove Belgium lost three games and fell from the rankings. Shiocton jumps back into the rankings.

1. Darlington
2. Destiny
3. Cochrane-Foutain City
4. The Prairie School
5. Marathon
6. Wabeno/Laona
7. Deerfield
8. Stanley Boyd
9. Edgar
10. Laconia
11. Eau Claire Regis
12. Young Coggs Prep
13. Wild Rose
14. New Glarus
15. Shiocton

Division Five
Columbus Catholic lost to Loyal with their top player out and fall to four. Shullsburg lost last week to Darlington which I evidently missed which dropped them to seven. Pecatonica lost to Barneveld and fall to 15. Phelps lost to Wabeno/Laona and fall from the rankings and are replaced by Loyal.

1. Seneca
2. Bangor
3. Hilbert
4. Columbus Catholic
5. Barneveld
6. McDonnell Central
7. Shullsburg
8. Almond Bancroft
9. Rio
10. Drummond
11. Gresham
12. Alma/Pepin
13. Black Hawk
14. Loyal
15. Pecatonica

Middleton over Stevens Point

Tuesday night went to Middleton to watch two potential state teams match up. This was my first chance to see Stevens Point star 6'8 junior Joey Hauser without his two incredible team mates in brother Sam Hauser and Trev Anderson both starting at D1 college's at this point. Hauser has missed much of the season due to a football injury and Point has very new team as last years state champions were senior dominated. This game also gave me a chance to see Middleton play an elite team outside of the Big Eight where teams know each other so well and know each others strengths and weaknesses.

Middleton came out gunning behind the strong play of 6'5 senior Tyree Eady who hit two big threes right off the bat. Those two threes where a pair of 13 threes that Middleton hit in this game. This game was one of the best I've seen Eady play as his complete game was on display. Eady was hitting the threes which I really hadn't seen this year, was driving to the lane, handled the ball, and most importantly took the job of guarding Hauser. Hauser had a tremendous game but, one thing I didn't like is that his team mates didn't look for him enough in my opinion. Most of Hauser's baskets came in one on one settings and he showed a wide array of game. I'm not sure if Hauser was quick enough or if he likes the short jumper but, Hauser really seemed to like the short pull up jumper that he could take at any time using his height to get his shot off. Hauser also showed a very nice spin move at times, some nice ball handling dribbling the ball behind his back to get to the hoop, and was able to finish through contact. The biggest struggle for Point was the fact Hauser had no help. 6'3 junior Drew Blair picked up two early free throws and was basically a non factor in the first half and no one else could get going. Hauser scorers 18 first half points but, was matched by Eady who also scored 18 points.

Throughout the first half Middleton's other star 5'11 senior Storm Murphy couldn't buy a basket and was missing everything but, in the second half he took off. I believe Murphy had only two points and finished with 19 for the game. Murphy was getting to the paint and scoring and hitting his classic step back threes off the dribble. Hauser continued his game but, got no help once again until the game was too late and when Hauser went to the bench for good Point was down 27 and eventually lost by 30.

Top Players
Joey Hauser junior 6'8 Stevens Point- Like I said already he's a big time scorer and can score in a variety of ways as well as dominate the glass. One thing that really impresses me is the ball handling of Hauser. He ran the point a good amount of time and showing the ball handling with the behind the back dribbles and ability to get in the lane.

Tyree Eady 6'5 senior Middleton- Did it all tonight. Hit the three, drove to the rim, and played the D. His best game of the year that I have seen.

Storm Murphy 5'11 senior Middleton- First half was rough but, he didn't his thing in the second half. Outside of Jordan McCabe he's the most fun player to watch in the state in my opinion and the best ball handler outside of McCabe.

Box Score 
Middleton 96- Eady 26 Murphy 19 CJ Fermanich 12 Ben Jackson 11 Brett Wipfli 5 Chan Bowman 5 Cole Ragsdale 5 Alan Roden 4 Davis Roquet 3 Brogan Brunker 2 Parker Sigmon 2 Myron Ashford Jr 2 Jack Smith 0 Nick Michaels 0 Brian Vergenz 0 Joel Ticknor 0 Francesco Cinti 0 Ryan Lewis 0
Stevens Point 66- Hauser 32 Blair 9 Sam Simmons 6 Brennan Mueller 6 Keon'te Williams 5 Beau Rosenthal 4 Drew Cullen 2 Logan Lewis 2 Andrew Erdman 0 Spencer Tyson 0 Max Hofmeister 0

Well Middleton appears poised to make a big tournament run that could end at state and things seem to be clicking at that right time. Stevens Point will probably make it to sectionals because of the sectional their in but, I just do see them as a state team this year, possible next year though with the strong junior class.

Madison Memorial splits a pair

Took in a pair of Madison Memorial games last week which I didn't get the chance to write about. Memorial seemed to be in control of the Big Eight Conference but, now things might be in question as they dropped a game to Sun Prairie and now sit tied with them at the top of the conference.

The first game saw Memorial go to Sun Prairie that led to tie for first in the conference. The story of the game was 6'6 freshmen Jalen Johnson who took this game over from the get go hitting a pair of threes to start the game off. Every time I see Johnson play he looks better and better. I'll admit when I first saw him I saw a lot of talent but, didn't see all the hype. Well I can say now that I'm a believer in the hype. Johnson really carried the team early as leading scorer 6'4 junior Marlson Ruffin struggled a bit but, then turned it on in the second half. Memorial got down big early and just couldn't come back. Memorial is a team that doesn't shoot a lot of threes and really look to pound the ball inside to their big men. This mind set is great if your team is in the lead but, if they get down early it's very tough for them to come back. Late in the second half it felt like Memorial might be able to tie the game or take the lead but, they played a little too much hero ball going one on one and couldn't get the game under five points. Just comes down to the fact that Johnson and Ruffin were the two best players on the court scoring 26 and 23 each. For Memorial 6'8 senior Chris Knight had 23 of his own. I've said it numerous times but, 6'6 senior Jake Ferguson is the key to their team. Ferguson does all the little things rebounding, helping bring the ball up the court, he can really score at times, and in this game took the challenge of guarding Johnson in the second half which took Johnson out of his game while Memorial played man to man. I would like to see Ferguson be more aggressive though as it seems like he can really score but, seems content to let his team mates do the scoring. I would also like to see Memorial go back to a man to man base defense. They play mostly zones this year and it opens the door to open threes and mismatches because the offense can determine the match ups.

Game two Memorial was able to play their game of solid defense and slow paced game. Foul trouble was the story early on as Ferguson picked up a pair of fouls early and sat much of the first half but, the bigger story was the foul trouble of Janesville Craig big man 6'9 senior Adam Anhold. Anhold was plagued with foul trouble all night and ended up fouling out early in the second half on a questionable foul and never made much of an impact in the game. Anhold out Knight took advantage and had a big game in the post scoring 23 of the teams 57 points. Craig really shot the three well late in this game to get back into the game but, it was just a little too late.

Just some final thoughts. Memorial is what they are. If the game is a low scoring game defensive struggle I like their chances but, if it's high scoring game I'm just not sure. I can see Sun Prairie, Middleton, or even Madison East taking them down in the playoffs. Sun Prairie really seems to be peaking at the right time and Ruffin and Johnson will be a scary two some next year and it could be a banner year for Prairie. Craig seems to be going in the wrong direction and I just don't know what the future entails for them.

Week 12 Rankings

Another Sunday and another round of rankings.

Division One
Stevens Point lost to La Crosse Central and drop to six because they now have the same record of Bay Port and Bay Port beat them head to head. . Racine Case lost to Oak Creek and honestly I couldn't find anyone to replace them so Case stays put at 15.

1. Oshkosh North
2. Kimberly
3. Milwaukee Vincent
4. Brookfield Central
5. Bay Port
6. Stevens Point
7. Arrowhead
8. Milwaukee Riverside
9. Sun Prairie
10. Madison Memorial
11. Middleton
12. Muskego
13. Eau Claire North
14. Oak Creek
15. Racine Case

Division Two
Seemed like everyone lost in D2.Waunakee lost to New Berlin Eisenhower and drop just a bit to seven. Stoughton lost to Waunakee and Monona Grove and fall down to 10. Onalaska lost to Ripon a tough game and fall just to eight. Pius lost to Eisenhower and Pewaukee but, with everyone else losing drop just to 12. Kaukauna lost to Kimberly and fall to 14. Whitnall lost to Brown Deer and Greenfield and fall from the rankings allowing Eisenhower in at 11. Mcfarland lost to Evansville and drop to 15. Wausau East lost to Marshfield and fall from the rankings replaced by Brown Deer.

1. Beaver Dam
2. La Crosse Central
3. Milwaukee Washington
4. Pewaukee
5. Cedarburg
6. Pulaski
7. Waunakee
8. Onalaska
9. Luxemburg Casco
10. Stoughton
11. New Berlin Eisenhower
12. Milwaukee Pius
13. Brown Deer
14. Kaukauna
15. Mcfarland 

Division Three
Westby lost to Arcadia and drop to eight. Adams lost to Lakeside Lutheran and drop to 13. Edgewood lost to Oregon and fall from the rankings replaced by New Holstein. Columbus lost to Lakeside Lutheran as well and Lakeside Lutheran replaces them at 15.

1. Ripon
2. Xavier
3. Prescott
4. Prairie du Chien
5. GET
6. Lake Mills
7. Southern Door
8. Waupun
9. Martin Luther
10. Bloomer
11. Evansville
12. Westby
13. Adams Friendship
14. New Holstein
15. Lakeside Lutheran

Division Four
Regis lost to Stanley Boyd and fall just behind them at nine. Laconia lost to Amherst and fall to 11, while Amherst is just outside looking in.

1. Darlington
2. Destiny
3. Cochrane-Fountain City
4. The Prairie School
5. Marathon
6. Wabeno/Laona
7. Deerfield
8. Stanley Boyd
9. Eau Claire Regis
10. Edgar
11. Laconia
12. Young Coggs Prep
13. Wild Rose
14. Cedar Grove Belgium
15. New Glarus 

Division Five
Rio lost to Hustifsford, Drummond lost to Solon Springs, and Gresham lost to Almond Bancroft checking them in at 9,10, and 11. Phelps lost to Phillips and Watersmeet Michigan and fall to 15. Assumption lost to Marathon and Barneveld and fall from the rankings and are replaced by Black Hawk at 14.

1. Columbus Catholic
2. Seneca
3. Bangor
4. Hilbert
5. Shullsburg
6. Barneveld
7. McDonnell Central
8. Almond Bancroft
9. Rio
10. Drummond
11. Gresham
12. Pecatonica
13. Alma/Pepin
14. Black Hawk
15. Phelps