March 2, 2015 By Alex Calles
Now that the Warhawks are WIAC champions, it’s time to hit the dance floor. This was a huge momentum boost for the ‘Hawks going into the Division III NCAA Tournament because it doesn’t have time to think about what could have been.
The loss to UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 11 was a devastating loss for the team, not because Stevens Point isn’t a good team, but because it was a coin-flip away from sending the Warhawks away from home for the WIAC Championship Tournament.
Heading into the D-III NCAA Tournament, the team is likely to host at least one game with the WIAC Championship win and it could lead to a 1-seed, depending on how the bracket shapes up. This team, in my opinion, is better than last year’s championship team. Not because there is more talent than last year, but because they have the momentum and some playoff experience.
During the WIAC Tournament, the ‘Hawks beat UW-Eau Claire (11-16) 82-60 and UW-Oshkosh (16-12) 71-57. It seemed to be a walk in the park for a conference championship weekend.
The team is playing its best basketball right now and for the first couple games, against lower seeds, it can give them more confidence leading into the playoff run that the ‘Hawks want and need. The only way they won’t make it deep into the tournament is if it becomes lazy and doesn’t perform the way that city of Whitewater and the WIAC Conference has seen them play.
While the Warhawks have many very good players, they don’t necessarily look to one player like Quardell Young or KJ Evans to lead the team in scoring. The ‘Hawks are a selfless basketball team, and that is what makes them a great contender for D-III title. In the championship game against Oshkosh, its leading scorer was forward Ron Patten with 19 points.
But now that the first step of its season goal is complete, the Warhawks have six more steps to take to reach their ultimate goal. For it to do that, all it needs to do is play the way its been playing most of the season.
Obviously, the ‘Hawks are going to be playing better teams, but between the balance on offense that scored an average of 77.6 points per game and a lock-down defense that held opponents to an average of 63 points per game, this team should find itself deep in the tournament schedule, no matter who it plays.
The Division III NCAA Tournament begins this week with the ‘Hawks possibly playing host in the first round. If that is the case, the community needs to be there showing their support like they did during the WIAC Tournament to give them an edge against opponents. If it continues to add to the five-game winning streak, we should see the ‘Hawks moving their way through the bracket, although, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the playoffs.