4A Substate Quarterfinal Preview

<p><em>Class 4A postseason action gets started tonight, with 32 teams taking the court. We’ll be down to 16 teams in a matter of hours. We take a look at some of the top games, teams who should be on upset alert and pick each of the 16 games.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="text-align: center;">The Top Five Games</h3> <p><strong>Lewis Central (10-9) at Urbandale (3-13)</strong></p> <p>Lewis Central has to go on the road for this one as Urbandale got a major bump for being a CIML team. Neither team is headed in the right direction, as Lewis Central enters on a four-game losing streak (following eight straight wins), and Urbandale is on an eight-game skid. The Titans are led by junior wing <strong>Wyatt Hatcher</strong> (13.9) and they crash the offensive glass hard, pulling down 10.1 offensive boards a game. Urbandale has struggled to score, averaging just 42.1 points a game this year. The J-Hawks are led by senior [player_tooltip player_id="964932" first="Dylan" last="Sams"] (11.2) and junior <strong>Greysn Schmitz</strong> (9.5). Perhaps playing a team from a league like the Hawkeye Ten will open up some of the scoring for the J-Hawks. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_1067006" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Jaxson-Young-1.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1067006 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Jaxson-Young-1-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Young[/caption] <p><strong>Prairie (4-8) at Linn-Mar (7-10)</strong></p> <p>Linn-Mar won the regular-season meeting, an entertaining 75-65 win back on January 12. The Lions shot 53.2% from the field and 52.4% from 3 in that win with four players in double-figures. The Lions are led in scoring by junior wing [player_tooltip player_id="962642" first="Jaxson" last="Young"] (11.6), an athletic scoring wing who thrives on playing downhill and getting to the bucket. Senior guards <strong>Gavyn Lamb</strong> (8.6) and [player_tooltip player_id="964838" first="Pearson" last="Martin"] (6.2) and forward <strong>Luke Passmore</strong> (7.6) headline an older, but largely inexperienced, group. Prairie has played a lot of high-scoring games this year, with their trio of double-figure scoring guards leading the way. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id="962635" first="Jake" last="Walter"] (16.0) and [player_tooltip player_id="784979" first="Elijah" last="Ward"] (13.8) headline the attack, while senior [player_tooltip player_id="678968" first="Caden" last="Stoffer"] (11.4) gives them some more quickness and athleticism on the perimeter. This one should be an up-tempo affair.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Davenport West (7-7) at Senior (9-8)</strong></p> <p>Expectations were high for Senior heading into the year, but the Rams got off to a really rough 3-8 start. They’ve won six straight heading into the postseason, looking like the team we expected to see this year. Senior big man [player_tooltip player_id="964846" first="Jim" last="Bonifas"] (11.2) leads a very balanced attack that has five other players averaging between 7.4 and 10.5 points a game. They’re deep and athletic, and they like to apply different pressure looks, which is something that the Falcons will have to contend with. The Falcons have done a pretty good job protecting the ball, turning it over 9.4 times a game. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="964803" first="John" last="Miller"] (17.4) is the team’s leading scorer, while junior [player_tooltip player_id="962634" first="Jermaine" last="Gardner"] (10.4) gives them another solid ball-handling option. Senior big man [player_tooltip player_id="796139" first="Aldane" last="Barrett"] (9.4, 1.9 blocks) is a big body in the paint who can protect the rim, and the matchup between him and Bonifas should be good.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Iowa City West (4-8) at Ottumwa (15-5)</strong></p> <p>This game gets us a matchup between two of the top scorers in 4A - West’s <strong>Peter Moe</strong> (23.6) and Ottumwa’s [player_tooltip player_id="727889" first="Trae" last="Swartz"] (19.3). It’s been a rebuilding season for the Trojans, and they’ve struggled to get any momentum going with a late start due to being in virtual learning, followed by a Covid-protocol pause shortly after. Moe, a junior who moved from Indiana before the start of the year, has been a bright spot for the Trojans with his ability to score inside and out at a high clip, posting 55-40-81 shooting splits. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="682262" first="Christian" last="Barnes"] (9.7) is a strong on-ball defender who has picked up his offensive play this year, and freshman <strong>Kareem Earl</strong> (6.9, 39.3 3P%) has started to come on strong late in the year. Ottumwa has won six straight heading into the postseason, headlined by the strong play of Swartz, a big, physical wing who can score from anywhere. Junior <strong>Adam Greiner</strong> (12.9, 6.4 rebounds) has played well, emerging as a solid secondary scoring threat. The ’Dogs have been strong defensively this year, allowing just 49.8 points a game, which is good for 9th in 4A. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of game plan they come up with for Moe. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Roosevelt (6-11) at Marshalltown (6-12)</strong></p> <p>These are a pair of CIML teams that are going through a bit of a youth movement and looking to gain some momentum heading into next year. Roosevelt is led by senior [player_tooltip player_id="964873" first="Jakari" last="Bradley"] (11.1), but three of their top five scorers are sophomores in <strong>Sam King</strong> (10.9), <strong>Jamison Patton</strong> (8.8) and <strong>George Williams</strong> (5.4). The top three scorers for Marshalltown are junior [player_tooltip player_id="682291" first="Armonniey" last="Thomas"] (16.8) and sophomores <strong>Prince Jallah</strong> (12.6) and <strong>Drake Kapayou</strong> (9.7). Thomas is a dynamic two-way player with length, speed and athleticism to burn, while Jallah is a long, athletic forward who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. It’s unlikely that either of these teams make a run this year, but they’ll both be teams to monitor heading into next year, and gaining any postseason experience they can will be valuable. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="text-align: center;">Upset Alert</h3> <p><strong>Ottumwa:</strong> Ottumwa is the better team, and they’re hot heading into the postseason. West has a big-time scorer in Peter Moe who could take over a game, so the ’Dogs will need to find a way to slow him down.</p> <p><strong>Burlington:</strong> The Grayhounds are taking on former conference rival Bettendorf, and the Bulldogs have historically dominated this series. Burlington moved to the Southeast Conference, which is a better fit for them but they play much softer competition on a nightly basis than the Bulldogs. The size, physicality and athleticism of Bettendorf will be a tough matchup for Burlington, but at the end of the day, their guard play may be a little too much for Bettendorf. </p> <p><strong>Des Moines North:</strong> The Polar Bears blasted East in the most recent meeting, 87-56, but they won by just one in January, 83-82. With the style that North likes to play, they can be vulnerable to upsets.</p> <p><strong>Urbandale:</strong> The J-Hawks are higher-seeded team, but they’ve won just three games this year. Lewis Central has a go-to scorer in Hatcher and they should be able to score on Urbandale. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Picking all 16</span><br /> <strong>Substate 1:</strong> Sioux City West over Council Bluffs Jefferson, Sioux City East over Sioux City North<br /> <strong>Substate 2:</strong> Indianola over Des Moines Lincoln, Hoover over Fort Dodge<br /> <strong>Substate 3:</strong> Linn-Mar over Prairie, Iowa City West over Ottumwa<br /> <strong>Substate 4:</strong> Waterloo East over City High, Waterloo West over Cedar Rapids Jefferson<br /> <strong>Substate 5:</strong> Senior over Davenport West, Muscatine over Clinton<br /> <strong>Substate 6:</strong> Bettendorf over Burlington, Davenport North over Davenport Central<br /> <strong>Substate 7:</strong> Lewis Central over Urbandale, Des Moines North over Des Moines East<br /> <strong>Substate 8:</strong> Marshalltown over Roosevelt, Norwalk over Mason City<br /> <br /> </p>