WIAA's "Super Tuesday" format needs tweaking

For example, Marquette's Al McGuire Center will host one of the "Super Tuesday" games, pitting the winners of the Racine Horlick and Kenosha Tremper Sectionals. Across the bracket, most of the top area teams, like Riverside, King, Marquette and Washington are competing in the West Allis Central Sections. The winner advances to a Super Tuesday match-up against a Madison-area team which will be played at UW-Whitewater.

For second-ranked Germantown, should it advance that far, play for a trip to state, it would do so against a team from the Appleton North sectional (likely, No 1 Appleton East) and that game would be played at UW-Oshkosh.

To review: teams from the Milwaukee area, traditionally (and arguably) the best programs in the state, are being sent away to play games in neutral sites to allow smaller schools a chance to win a championship.

Does this make any sense?

The WIAA already prevents the best match-ups from taking place in Madison by placing a greater emphasis on geographic representation than on seeding -- that's why so many times the best match-ups tend to take place during the sectional semifinals or finals.

It's one thing to make the state tournament more inclusive, on the high school level, it's the right thing to do. But one of the thrills of playing prep basketball is walking onto the court at a big-time venue, in front of thousands of fans and the television cameras. Though the new format increases opportunities for some, it takes away from a lot more.

If this format is going to continue for the long-term, a change is needed. If the "Super Sectional" games remain in place, at least move all of them to one location -- for example, right here in Milwaukee?

The area produces some of the best prep basketball action and talent in the state though interest, due to a number of factors, is far lower than it is in the Fox Valley, Madison or other parts of the state. Bringing the games to Milwaukee -- a one-day, two-session event -- would go a long way in generating some pre-tournament buzz (and might even help the WIAA make a few more bucks).

Doing so would require students to miss a day of classes -- no more than they would have missed had the tournament format remained the same -- but it would bring back some of the luster these young men and women are missing out on by the new format.

Change is good. In this case, it could be better.

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Posted by Natemarq on March 7, 2011 at 11:56 a.m. (report)

The fact that the Milwaukee Area will only get to send two teams to Madison is just horrible. The way I see it is that you go back to an 8 team tournament. You send 4 teams from Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha County. 3 teams from Dane, Waukesha, Walworth, Rock and Washington County, and 1 team from any other county. Therefore you get the 7 best teams plus the best proportional representation of our state via population. Go St. Cats!!

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Posted by buck on March 7, 2011 at 9:46 a.m. (report)

Personally, I'd rewrite the first paragraph to say the following... The WIAA, in an effort to appease sore losers and small town racists who hate seeing small urban private schools with african-american players win in what they perceive as rightfully "their" divisions, has expanded its basketball tournament format from four to five divisions, a decision that is a little more than goofy.

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Posted by Natemarq on March 6, 2011 at 8:01 p.m. (report)

The WIAA will do anything it can to help out the schools up north. This ruling is almost as bad as the "St. Catherines Rule" where urban private schools automatically have to be placed in a higher class than other schools the same size. The good news for St. Cats is that it still doenst matter and them and Dominican are still going to roll some hillbilly team from Winnecone or something

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