Bryan Stangel uncorks the game-winner for UWP in the 2001 playoffs

In the inaugural Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament, sixth-seeded UW-Stout beat the third- and second-seeded teams and took powerhouse UW-Platteville to overtime before the Pioneers prevailed 90-88 on their way to the 1999 NCAA III national championship.

Stout’s run seems almost typical in this tournament, whose first nine years have been filled with fantastic games and incredible upsets.

The Pioneers are guaranteed to host at least one game, facing a foe to be determined Monday at 7 p.m. The semifinals are Wednesday at the highest remaining seeds, and the championship is set for Saturday, March 1 at the highest remaining seed. It all adds up to one of the most anticipated weeks in the season of any conference sport.

“The WIAC Men’s and Women’s Post-Season Basketball Tournament has been one of the most successful and popular ventures undertaken by the conference since its inception 10 years ago,” Commissioner Gary Karner said. “The tournament has been a huge financial success providing much needed revenue to the conference and its member institutions during a time of dwindling state support for higher education. In addition, the amount of fan and media attention paid to the tournament has been simply outstanding.”

Only five times in nine years the number one seed has won the championship. The number two seed has won it all twice, but the poor number three seed has limped in with a dismal 5-9 record, losing in the first round six of the nine seasons (but with one title). Fourth-seeded UW-Oshkosh was the lowest seed to win the tournament and the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA III playoffs in 2003.

Compare the men’s play with that of the women’s. The top-ranked WIAC women’s teams are a perfect 27-0 in the tournament, winning every championship. Only the UWP women have broken through with any major upsets, as the seventh-seeded Pioneers advanced all the way to the 2001 championship game (losing at the buzzer) and then winning at second-seeded UW-Whitewater last season.

While the Pioneer women’s 2001 run was unpredictable, the men’s tournament that same year set new standards for upsets.

On the opening night, the Pioneers’ Bryan Stangel grabbed a missed free throw, dribbled down the court, and threw up a 24-footer at the buzzer, as seventh-seeded UWP upset number two UW-Stevens Point 57-56. Over in UW-River Falls, the Falcons prematurely celebrated a win and tossed the ball in the air. The ball, however, hit the low Karges Center ceiling, stopping the clock and allowing UW-Oshkosh time for a desperation three. The Titans made the long shot and won 95-87 in overtime. Finally, number one seed UW-Whitewater lost on its home floor--by 41 points! Eight-seed UW-Stout put together the all-time stunner, 90-49.

“That’s a credit to this league that there are so many good coaches, good players and good systems out there,” Pioneer Coach Paul Combs said. “When your backs are against the wall, it’s a whole new season. Everybody has a clean slate and has the same common goal: win the championship and get the automatic bid. It gives some teams that maybe hadn’t had a lot of life, because of their record, a lot to play for. A lot of the young teams have nothing to lose, but everything to play for.”

The Pioneers stunned WIAC champion River Falls in the 2004 playoffs

The final week of the season will see teams jockeying for post-season position, another plus according to Commissioner Karner.

“The tournament also makes the entire regular-season relevant and a team that struggles early still has a great deal to play for given the opportunity to participate and advance in postseason play,” he said. “Consequently, each and every conference game up through the very last weekend of the season is significant in that the game may very well determine which teams get into the tournament, the seeding, the matchups and the host sites.”

Once the tournament starts, teams better be ready to play each night or the season ends quickly.

“It puts a lot of emphasis on team play,” Combs said. “You have to utilize your bench, especially when you look at how it plays out this year. We play Saturday in the last regular season conference game, then you can play Monday, Wednesday, Saturday. That’s four games in eight days. You want to be playing your best basketball at that time, so you have to use your bench because of the demands placed throughout that week, not only physically but also mentally. It’s a lot to deal with for young student-athletes.”

Players and coaches alike have to deal with the familiarity of their opponents. One of the oldest sayings in basketball is that it is hard to beat the same team three times in one year. Just playing someone three times is hard enough.

“It’s difficult, and the format allows for some upsets,’ Combs said. “There’s not much turnaround time, and you are playing someone for a third time. You’re rewarded as a higher seed by playing at home, but you still have to win three games in five days. It’s difficult playing any team three times, and this allows for much more parity. We’ve seen that in the past. It’s very difficult to beat a lower seed for a third time, and that’s when upsets come into play.”

Upsets, buzzer-beaters and ultimately a championship and a trip to nationals. In nine year’s the WIAC post-season tournament has seen it all.

It’s time for the 2008 version of the most unpredictable conference tournament in the land. Buy a ticket and buckle up. It promises to be one heck of a ride.