No. 4 UW-La Crosse vs. No. 3 UW-Platteville for WIAC tournament championship Friday
Two of the Top 5 teams in the Division III men’s basketball face off Friday for the WIAC tournament championship.
It’s the third time in school history, fourth-ranked UW-La Crosse plays for the title.
The No. 2-seeded Eagles (22-4), who have never won the WIAC tourney since it began in 1999, play top-seeded and third-ranked UW-Platteville on the road at 7 p.m. Friday.
UW-L is 0-2 against the Pioneers (24-2) this season, losing 83-75 in La Crosse on Jan. 8 and 83-73 in Platteville on Feb. 5.
The Eagles offense is fairly balanced with four averaging double figures, led by guard Sam Grieger at 15.8 points a game, shooting 52.6% from the field. The sophomore is second on UW-L in rebounding (5.4), assists (2.5), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.8).
Meanwhile, UW-P has three averaging double figures, but Logan Pearson stands out at 19.4 points. The 6-foot-3 senior forward is shooting 49.7% from the field.
Pearson had 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting against UW-L in the first matchup but only 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting for 11 points in the last matchup.
The winner will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though with both teams ranked in the Top 5 nationally, it’s more than likely they will both continue playing in the postseason.
TOP PHOTO: The UW-La Crosse men’s basketball team huddles (PHOTO: UWL Athletics)