STATE TOURNAMENT: Friday Preview
1A Championship: #8 Wapsie Valley (20-7) vs. #2 Bishop Garrigan (24-2), 2:00 pm
How they got here: Wapsie Valley played their gameplan to perfection en route to an upset over top-seeded Lake Mills in the quarterfinals, 49-45. They exerted their will against Montezuma in the semifinals, 57-42. Bishop Garrigan got a big fourth quarter from Angelo Winkel Angelo Winkel 6'9" | C Bishop Garrigan | 2021 State IA en route to their 55-52 quarterfinal win over Springville. They wore down a smaller West Fork team in the semifinals, controlling the second half en route to a 66-52 win.
Analysis: Wapsie Valley has been the talk of the 1A tournament so far, pulling off a stunner against Lake Mills, then powering past Montezuma in the semifinals. The Warriors have been strong on both ends of the floor, and sophomore wing Gunner Meyer has been one of the breakout stars of the week. They’ll have their hands full with a Bishop Garrigan team that features 6-9 Angelo Winkel Angelo Winkel 6'9" | C Bishop Garrigan | 2021 State IA , who has been dominant whenever he’s been on the floor this week, averaging 19 points, 14.5 rebounds and 5 blocks a game.
Look for Wapsie to try and use Meyer to attack the rim, and try to pound the ball into 6-7 big man Kiks Rosengarten, in an attempt to get Winkel into foul trouble. If they’re able to do that, it’ll open up the whole offensive attack for them. Don’t be surprised to see the Warriors also pack their defense in, like they did in the quarterfinal win over Lake Mills, and make the Golden Bears perimeter pieces beat them. This should be a fascinating chess match between Marty McKowen and Mark Meister, and whichever coach is able to come up with the better game plan, and get their young men to execute it, may have the edge. Both of these teams have really fed off of emotion, crowd noise and momentum throughout the week, so it’ll be interesting to see how they react with hardly anyone in the gym.
In what should be a tight game, we’ll give the edge to the team with the most impactful player on the floor, and the better free throw shooting team. But this one could truly go either way. Whatever happens, some school will get their first state championship this afternoon.
Players to watch
Wapsie Valley: Kiks Rosengarten (18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 67 blocks), Gunner Meyer (10.0 points, 52.2 FG%, 44.0 3P%), Blayde Bellis (10.3 points, 116 assists, 53 3PM), Kobe Risse (9.8 points, 162 assists, 41.0 3P%)
Bishop Garrigan:
Angelo Winkel
Angelo
Winkel
6'9" | C
Bishop Garrigan | 2021
State
IA
(18.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 58.7 FG%, 44 blocks),
Cade Winkel
Cade
Winkel
6'4" | PF
Bishop Garrigan | 2020
State
IA
(16.0 points, 61.2 FG%),
John Joyce
John
Joyce
6'3" | PG
Bishop Garrigan | 2020
State
IA
(14.0 points, 91 assists)
Our pick: Bishop Garrigan 52, Wapsie Valley 49
Miller
2A Championship: #1 Boyden-Hull (23-3) vs. #3 North Linn (26-0), 3:45 pm
How they got here: Boyden-Hull dominated Woodward-Granger in the quarterfinals, holding the Hawks to 21% shooting en route to a 57-26 win. They controlled the game throughout against Camanche in the semifinals, winning 64-49. North Linn survived a battle against West Sioux in the quarterfinals, 56-51, before blasting Treynor in the semifinals, 79-58.
Analysis: These teams met in last year’s 2A championship game, won by North Linn, 60-41. The Lynx will be looking to repeat last year’s performance, and have looked really good this week. They’re forcing an average of 15.5 turnovers a game, and Boyden-Hull has turned it over an average of 17 times a game so far in their wins over Woodward-Granger and Camanche. That won’t fly against the Lynx pressure. If Boyden-Hull turns it over at that clip again on Friday afternoon, they’ll find themselves in a similar situation to what Treynor found themselves in on Wednesday night.
Austin Miller Austin Miller 6'2" | PF North Linn | 2020 State IA has been fantastic for the Lynx in two state games this week, averaging 26.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. His ability to stretch the floor and compete on the glass against bigger players has been key for North Linn, and it should continue. Boyden-Hull has some length and physicality, but nothing that Miller hasn’t seen before.
Marcus Kelderman was great for Boyden-Hull in the semifinal win, coming off the bench to score 27 points, while the starters were 10-22 from the floor and turned it over 15 times. They need to get better production out of the starters, with fewer turnovers, if they’re going to slow down the North Linn train. Boyden-Hull plays pretty basketball, with each player on the floor able to do a bit of everything. But turnovers will doom them.
Players to watch
Boyden-Hull:
Tanner Te Slaa
Tanner
Te Slaa
6'5" | SF
Boyden-Hull | 2022
State
IA
(17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 53.3 FG%, 45.5 3P%), Marcus Kelderman (11.6 points),
Keyton Moser
Keyton
Moser
6'2" | SF
Boyden-Hull | 2020
State
IA
(13.5 points, 52.7 FG%, 5.5 rebounds, 75 assists), Andrew Frick (10.1 points, 60.9 FG%)
North Linn:
Austin Miller
Austin
Miller
6'2" | PF
North Linn | 2020
State
IA
(23.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 77 steals, 69.4 FG%),
Austin Hilmer
Austin
Hilmer
5'10" | PG
North Linn | 2022
State
IA
(17.9 points, 212 assists, 96 steals), Cade Haughenbury (6.7 points, 4.5 rebounds), Gunner Vanourney (7.3 points, 47 3PM), Dylan Kurt (12.1 points, 67 3PM)
Our pick: North Linn 66, Boyden-Hull 58
Born
3A Championship: #1 Norwalk (23-3) vs. #6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (16-10), 6:35 pm
How they got here: Norwalk overcame slow starts to blow out Harlan in the quarterfinals, 72-37, and controlled the second half against Ballard in a 79-61 semifinal win. Sergeant Bluff-Luton used their length to dominate games defensively in their quarterfinal win, 58-43, against Pella, and semifinal win over Clear Creek-Amana, 55-46.
Analysis: Since losing in the 3A championship game last year, Norwalk has been on a mission to get back to Friday night. They’ve overcome slow starts against both Harlan and Ballard to cruise into this game, and they enter as a prohibitive favorite. Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA has been his usual dominant self this week, averaging 30 points a game in their two games, but the play of their role players has been the bigger story. Scott Anderson is 6-12 from behind the arc this week. Tyler Johnson is a big, physical wing who can fill it up in a hurry if the defense is too focused on Born, and despite lacking traditional size, the Warriors have won the rebounding edge in both of their games.
Sergeant Bluff-Luton has a starting lineup with three players that are 6-7 or taller, yet they attempted 33 3s in the semifinal win over CCA. They’re going to try to use that size and length to bother Born, but might lack the speed to stay in front of him. If they go zone, Norwalk has a lot of shooters who can make them pay. SB-L is going to need to slow this game down, pound the ball inside and play an entirely different game than they did in the semifinals if they want to win here.
Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA ‘s Mr. Basketball season ends with Norwalk’s first state championship.
Players to watch
Norwalk:
Bowen Born
Bowen
Born
5'11" | PG
Norwalk | 2020
State
#401
Nation
IA
(36.9 points, 111 assists, 55.4 FG%, 106 3PM, 41.6 3P%, 206-238 FT), Tyler Johnson (14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 62 3PM, 47.0 3P%), Scott Anderson (6.2 pints, 41.7 3P%)
Sergeant Bluff-Luton:
Daniel Wright
Daniel
Wright
6'8" | PF
Sergeant Bluff-Luton | 2020
State
IA
(14.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 95 assists), Majok Majouk (7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds), Deric Fitzgerald (10.2 points, 44.0 3P%),
Jake Layman
Jake
Layman
6'7" | SF
Sergeant-Bluff Luton | 2021
State
IA
(10.6 points)
Our pick: Norwalk 71, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 59
Sandfort
4A Championship: #4 Waukee (23-2) vs. #6 Ankeny (20-5), 8:35 pm
How they got here: Waukee held off a late North Scott rally in the quarterfinals to win, 58-50. They did the same in their semifinal win over Ankeny Centennial, avenging a regular season loss with a 68-62 win. Ankeny has been the talk of the 4A tournament, using a 41-point outburst to beat Iowa City West 68-54 in the quarterfinals, and 12-22 3-point shooting to race past Cedar Falls, 71-57, in the semifinals.
Analysis: Despite both being in the CIML, these teams are in different divisions and haven’t met this season. Expect a lot of firepowers in this game, and both teams are capable of lighting the scoreboard up in a hurry.
Waukee is filed with length and shooting, and will be a difficult matchup for Ankeny’s smaller guards. With 6-7 Tucker DeVries Tucker DeVries 6'7" | SF Waukee | 2021 State #123 Nation IA , 6-7 Payton Sandfort Payton Sandfort 6'7" | SF Waukee | 2021 State #138 Nation IA , 6-4 Pryce Sandfort and 6-7 Wyatt Heston Wyatt Heston 6'7" | SF Waukee | 2021 State IA all shooting over 45% from behind the arc, they’re going to be able to get their shots off whenever they want. Ankeny will need to use their quickness to try and create some turnovers. The Hawks exploded in their semifinal win, going 12-22 from behind the arc, including 6-9 from Jordan Kumm Jordan Kumm 5'10" | PG Ankeny | 2020 State IA , who came into the game as a 29% 3-point shooter. They’ve been fantastic on both ends of the floor this week, using their quickness to dominate the game on both ends of the floor, but they may have met their match against this Waukee team.
If this game is tight late, both teams are pretty good from the free throw line, but Waukee has the ultimate icer in Payton Sandfort Payton Sandfort 6'7" | SF Waukee | 2021 State #138 Nation IA , who is shooting 88.5% from the stripe. And without fans in the stands, there won’t be the usual distracting noise.
Players to watch
Waukee:
Tucker DeVries
Tucker
DeVries
6'7" | SF
Waukee | 2021
State
#123
Nation
IA
(21.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 76 3PM, 48.7 3P%, 120 assists),
Payton Sandfort
Payton
Sandfort
6'7" | SF
Waukee | 2021
State
#138
Nation
IA
(19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 71 3PM, 46.4 3P%, 101 assists),
Wyatt Heston
Wyatt
Heston
6'7" | SF
Waukee | 2021
State
IA
(7.7 points, 50 3PM, 49.5 3P%), Lincoln Swanson (4.8 points, 74.2 FG%), Pryce Sandfort (9.2 points, 52 3PM, 45.2 3P%)
Ankeny:
Braxton Bayless
Braxton
Bayless
6'1" | PG
Ankeny | 2020
State
IA
(23.8 points, 87 assists, 55.1 FG%), Jaxon Smith (14.4 points),
Jordan Kumm
Jordan
Kumm
5'10" | PG
Ankeny | 2020
State
IA
(8.7 points)
Our pick: Waukee 74, Ankeny 67