The brackets for the upcoming 2024 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) boys basketball state tournament have been released. Both Marshall and Waterloo have had solid seasons, and their seedings reflected that. Both teams will compete in Sectional 3 of Division 4, where the Cardinals of Marshall are the No. 5 seed and the Pirates of Waterloo are No. 7.
With one game remaining in the regular season, Marshall currently sits with a 12-11 overall record, including a 4-5 mark in Capitol — South conference play. The Cardinals certainly benefitted from their beefy non-conference schedule this season, which included a six-game winning streak at one point. They claimed victories over solid programs like Clinton, Deerfield, and Brodhead.
As the No. 6 seed, Marshall’s state tournament will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at home against No. 12 seed Necedah. Also nicknamed the Cardinals, Necedah competes in the Scenic Bluffs conference, where they currently sit in fifth in the standings with a 6-8 record. Overall, Necedah is 8-12 this season with one game remaining. These two Cardinal teams share no common opponents from the 2023-24 season.
The winner of their regional opening matchup will advance to face No. 4 seed Cambridge, which earned a bye. Marshall lost both matchups with the Blue Jays this season in Capitol — South conference action. Cambridge won the first on Thursday, Jan. 11 on its home court 69-60 and escaped Marshall with a narrow 60-58 win on Thursday, Feb. 8.
This season has been a resurgent one for No. 7 seed Waterloo. With a matchup with league-leading New Glarus still on the schedule, the Pirates have produced a 3-9 record in Capitol — South play and are 7-16 overall. Those three conference wins are the team’s most since 2018-19 and the overall win total is the team’s best since 2019-20.
Waterloo drew No. 10 seed Westfield for its regional opener. The Pioneers are currently 9-13 overall, including 4-5 in the South Central conference. These two non-conference foes have already met once this season, a 64-43 win for the host Pirates. Waterloo got 19 points from senior Benny Marshall, 11 from senior Theo Schofield, and 10 from sophomore Ryder Jaehnke in the victory. None were the game’s leading scorer, though, as Westfield sophomore Austin Lyon filled up the stat sheet for 25 points.
Just like Marshall, Waterloo will open regional play against Westfield on Thursday, Feb. 27 at home. The winner will advance to face No. 2 seed Randolph, which earned a first-round bye. The Rockets finished as runners-up in the Trailways — West conference this season with an 11-2 record and are 17-6 overall.
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