Wauwatosa sweep vaults Brookfield East in area boys basketball rankings

• Several top Milwaukee-area high school boys basketball teams are competing for conference titles and top seeds.
• Brookfield East is named team of the week after two key conference wins put it in contention for the Greater Metro Conference title.
• West Allis Central dropped in the rankings after its star player, Yusef Gray Jr., was reported to be out for the season.
• Wisconsin Lutheran remains undefeated and holds the top spot in the area rankings.

It is a big week for several top high school boys hoops teams in the Milwaukee area, as programs make their final cases for top seeds and clinch conference titles.

Slinger and Whitefish Bay, locked in a dead heat for the North Shore title, are ranked just as close in our area rankings this week. Brookfield East earns our team of the week nod after a sweep of conference opponents gave it the inside track for a Greater Metro Conference title. West Allis Central kept winning last week, but the news that Iowa State commit and 6-foot-5 senior guard Yusef Gray Jr. is reportedly out for the season dropped the Bulldogs another couple spots.

Wauwatosa West dropping a barn-burner to Brookfield East drops it out of the top 10 this week, while Milwaukee Audubon Tech (13-7) has lost three straight games to drop out of others considered.

Here are our full area rankings, team of the week and games to watch in the week ahead.

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L), last week

1. Wisconsin Lutheran (21-0), 1
2. Port Washington (20-1), 2
3. Milwaukee Juneau (19-1), 5
4. New Berlin West (19-2), 3
5. Brookfield East (17-4), 9
6. Slinger (17-4), 4
7. Whitefish Bay (16-5), –
8. West Allis Central (19-2), 6
9. Golda Meir (16-2), 8
10. Howard Fuller Collegiate (18-2), 10

Others considered: Arrowhead (15-6), Germantown (12-8), Greendale (16-5), Hartford Union (15-6), Kettle Moraine (14-7), Lake Country Lutheran (16-3), Milwaukee Bay View (17-3), Milwaukee Vincent (12-2), Racine Case (17-4), Wauwatosa West (15-5).

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Brookfield East

Seemingly back to full health upon the return of breakout 6-foot freshman guard Max McMullen, the Spartans surged to the top of a cutthroat Greater Metro Conference race with two league wins by narrow margins last week.

Brookfield East completed a sweep of Wauwatosa last week, first beating Tosa East in double overtime on Feb. 10. Senior 6-3 guard TJ Platz scored 31 points with 11 rebounds to lead the win, with 6-foot senior guard Owen Counsell adding 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. In a star-studded Feb. 13 meeting with Tosa West, the Spartans overcame 44 points from Matthew Kloskey and 29 from Jalen Brown of the Trojans to win a 100-95 track meet. Senior 5-9 guard Ronje Horton Jr. had a team-best 27 points, while McMullen added 25 in his return to action from a right arm injury. Platz had 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while 6-1 sophomore guard Davian White had 11 points off the bench.

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The victories put Brookfield East at 11-3 in the GMC entering the week, putting it ahead of Germantown (10-4), Wauwatosa West (9-4) and Brookfield Central (9-4) among remaining conference title contenders. A win Feb. 17 over Central could clinch at least a share of the title for East, whose final league game is against West Allis Hale (1-13) on Feb. 20.

COMING UP

Milwaukee Lutheran at West Allis Central, 7 p.m. Feb. 19: Milwaukee Lutheran hung with WAC like few teams had before Gray Jr.’s injury earlier this year, and will look to avenge that 99-85 loss from Jan. 27.

Germantown at Whitnall, 7 p.m. Feb. 20: A pair of scrappy teams just outside the lead in their respective conferences lock up as they prepare for the WIAA postseason.

Arrowhead at Marquette, 4 p.m. Feb. 21: While both programs are not quite where they were two years ago, a rematch of the 2024 WIAA Division 1 state title could be the springboard for either program to make another deep postseason run.