What We Said Then v. What We Think Now (Girls Division 1)

With the playoffs squarely in sight (girls pairings are announced tomorrow, we believe) it's time to reassess our August sectional predictions. Below is a listing of the teams we predicted would win the eight girls D1 sectionals, followed by our latest thoughts on things. We'll do girls D2 tomorrow, D3 the next day, D4 the day after that and boys the following day (by then, we'll know who won tonight's Nicolet-Milwaukee Marquette game). OK, let's get started:

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 1

What We Said Then Wausau West over Menomonie

What We Think Now Meaning absolutely no disrespect to the two teams above, we're pulling for Merrill to make their first trip to state since 1981. And they certainly have a legitimate shot.

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 2

What We Said Then Kaukauna over Manitowoc Lincoln

What We Think Now We still feel Kaukauna is the front-runner and that Manitowoc Lincoln is in the mix, but we freely admit we didn't have Green Bay Preble on our radar like we should have.

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 3

What We Said Then Middleton over Madison West in four

What We Think Now We're not about to sing a different Toon on this one. Madison West could also be in the mix, but that particular prediction was also predicated on some things that weren't accurate. Look for Madison La Follette or Waunakee to work their way into the picture here.

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 4

What We Said Then West Bend East over Fond du Lac

What We Think Now The Suns are ranked 10th in the October 8 WVCA poll so the coaches are apparently seeing things the way we are. West Bend West could also be in the mix, as they almost always are.

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 5

What We Said Then Nicolet over Homestead

What We Think Now Hmm. No fewer than five ranked teams (as of Oct. 8) are in this sectional: No. 2 Watertown, No. 5 Menomonee Falls, No. 7 Nicolet, No. 9 Homestead and HM Arrowhead. We still think Nicolet could pull this one off, but we also think any of the others could as well. In other words, this is us shrugging our shoulders and saying, "er, we dunno."

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 6

What We Said Then Burlington over Westosha Central

What We Think Now We had originally picked the Demons to win this sectional on the strength of what we knew they had returning (proven veterans like Kayla Uhlenhake, Mandi Baumeister, Quinn Imrie and others). We became even more confident in our pick when we realized they would also have three talented freshmen on the floor (Ciara Capezio, Kaysie Shebeneck and Morganne Longoria).

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 7

What We Said Then Muskego over Franklin

What We Think Now We not only predicted the Warriors would win this sectional, we also predicted them to win the 2009 Division 1 title in our annual (and crazy-far-out-on-a-limb) New Years Day predictions.

DIVISION 1 SECTIONAL 8

What We Said Then Divine Savior Holy Angels over Oak Creek

What We Think Now The Dashers still look to be the fave. Oak Creek could still surprise. We feel we're in a good spot with this prediction.

Well, there you have it. And remember, we're doing this because we think it will build excitement for the playoffs, not because we claim to be brilliant at knowing any of this.

Also, please don't hesitate to let us know your thoughts and predictions. We would appreciate it, however, if you avoid providing any commentary unless it's pure, unadulterated praise. If it's not, we reserve the right to reject the comment or edit out the bad and publish the good. To be on the safe side, a simple prediction supported by facts (e.g. tournament wins, record, etc.) works best.

Thanks.