FOR HUB CITY TIMES

STEVENS POINT – Playoff brackets are set for the 2023 WIAA boys’ basketball playoffs. Seeds and first-round pairings and byes were announced Feb. 19.

In Div. 1, the Marshfield Tigers are seeded No. 5 in their sectional, receive a first-round bye and will host No. 12 Appleton North in a regional semifinal Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The Tigers were winners of the Wisconsin Valley Conference for the second consecutive season.

In Div. 3, No. 3 Colby received a first-round bye, and will host a regional semifinal on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m., versus the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between No. 6 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau and No. 11 Altoona, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 28. The Hornets won their first outright Eastern Cloverbelt Conference championship in 14 years, by one game over Marshfield Columbus and Owen-Withee. The Dons and Hornets won a share of the conference title in 2010-11.

In Div. 4, The Auburndale Eagles are seeded No. 2, receive a first-round bye and will host the winner of the regional quarterfinal contest between No. 7 Princeton/Green Lake and No. 10 Boyceville in the regional semifinal round on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The Eagles finished in third place in the Marawood-South, with a conference record of 12-3.

Also in Div. 4, No. 4 Stratford will host No. 13 Abbotsford in a regional quarterfinal on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. That same night, No. 8 Spencer will host No. 9 Westfield. The winner of that contest will advance to play No. 1 Marathon, who received a first-round bye.

In Div. 5, Marshfield Columbus is seeded No. 4 in their sectional, and will host No. 13 Wisconsin Valley Lutheran in a regional quarterfinal contest on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. The Dons finished 11-3 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, tied for second place with Owen-Withee.  Columbus had won six of the last seven conference championships dating back to the 2015-16 season. Spencer and Neillsville shared the title in 2019-20.

Also in Div. 5, Loyal – seeded No. 6 – will host No. 11 Independence in the regional quarterfinal round, while No. 15 Greenwood travels to No. 2 Hillsboro. No. 4 Pittsville is hosting No. 13 Coulee Christian/Providence Academy (La Crosse) in the first round. Owen-Withee also received a No. 4 seeding, and is hosting No. 13 Lake Holcombe in the quarterfinals on Feb. 28.