Friday 4A Substate Semifinal Picks
Class 4A Substate Semifinals Game Our Pick Reasoning Fort Dodge at Ankeny Ankeny Hawks won regular season meeting by 14, without star guard Braxton Bayless, a 23 point scorer, in the lineup. Too much perimeter scoring punch for Fort Dodge…
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Continue ReadingClass 4A Substate Semifinals
Game | Our Pick | Reasoning |
Fort Dodge at Ankeny | Ankeny | Hawks won regular season meeting by 14, without star guard Braxton Bayless, a 23 point scorer, in the lineup. Too much perimeter scoring punch for Fort Dodge to keep up with. |
Roosevelt at Centennial | Centennial | The Jaguars have been dominant this season, rolling to a 21-1 record. They won the regular season meeting by 21 in December, outrebounding Roosevelt by 12. They have too much size and depth for Roosevelt to keep up with. |
Linn-Mar at Cedar Falls | Cedar Falls | Linn-Mar will try to ugly it up, but CF hasn’t lost to a team not named Waterloo West yet this season. Two-time defending champion Tigers rounding into form, have too many scoring options for L-M to slow down. |
Urbandale at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln | CBAL | Playing a weaker schedule than most 4A teams may catch up to CBAL at some point, but this Lynx group is strong and talented. Their only loss came to a really good Bellevue West (NE) team, 6-3 sophomore guard Josh Dix will be the best player on the floor. |
Pleasant Valley at Davenport Central | Central | PV will do what PV does and try to grind this game to a halt. The two meetings this season were both Central wins – 39-19 and 43-39. So don’t expect much scoring here, but the Blue Devils have the best player in Emarion Ellis, and the athleticism and length to really stymie what PV wants to do on offense. |
Lewis Central at Dowling Catholic | Dowling Catholic | Difference between the CIML and Hawkeye Ten will be on full display here, as big, physical Maroons shouldn’t have too many issues with Titans. |
Liberty at Hempstead | Hempstead | Hempstead won first meeting by just 3, in overtime, despite big games from Michael Duax (27) and Jamari Smith (22). Liberty held 34-21 rebounding edge in that game, ‘Stangs will need to clean that up if they want to avoid the upset. |
City High at Senior | Senior | New look Senior team likes to press and push the tempo. They beat City by 23 in regular season meeting a month ago, dropping 91 in the process. Closer this time around, but still a comfortable Rams win. |
Ottumwa at Iowa City West | Iowa City West | Coach Steve Bergman will have a game plan to stop Ottumwa star wing Trae Swartz, a 23-point scorer. Bulldogs have no answer for Even Brauns inside, Trojans win comfortably with dominant defensive effort. |
Indianola at Johnston | Johnston | Game of the night. Johnston has won 9 of 10 down the stretch, Indianola has an explosive offense that has led them to 19-3 record. Dragons have played a much more difficult schedule, and have the athletes to slow down Indians attack, plenty of scoring punch of their own. Look for a game played in the 70s, and it could go either way. |
Kennedy at North Scott | North Scott | If you’re looking for a major upset spot, this could be it. Kennedy is extremely dangerous, with a great two-way player in Caleb Schlaak. McKowen is an excellent postseason coach, and possessions will be limited here. Still, advantage Lancers playing in The Pit. Too much Ty Anderson, too much Sam Kilburg. |
Davenport North at Prairie | Prairie | Hawks won season opener over North, 72-54. It’ll be closer this time around, but Prairie still gets the edge playing at home. |
Ames at Sioux City East | Sioux City East | Ames is feisty, and will try to slow down a high powered Black Raiders attack, but East dictates tempo and outscores the Little Cyclones here. |
Des Moines North at Valley | Valley | North is dangerous with Hoover transfer Manny Austin finally in the lineup, giving them a trio of guys who can score 25 on a given night (Malik Allen, Diondre Taylor). The question is whether the Polar Bears can play enough D to slow down Valley’s attack. Veteran Tigers survive a scare at home in a really good game. |
Jefferson at Waterloo West | Waterloo West | Wahawks blasted Jefferson by 28 a month ago to the day. Shouldn’t have too many issues repeating that performance. |
Lincoln at Waukee | Waukee | Outside of the midseason setbacks against Valley and Centennial, Waukee has been stellar this season. Warriors won regular season meeting by 15, despite just 5 points on 1-7 shooting from Payton Sandfort. That won’t happen again. |