Playoff Preview: 3A-1

<p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/3A-1.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1130402" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/3A-1.png" alt="" width="806" height="707" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_1067003" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Kaleb-Booth.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1067003 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Kaleb-Booth-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Booth[/caption] <p><strong>The favorite:</strong> The potent offense of<strong> Carroll</strong> makes the Tigers a slight favorite in this talented substate. [player_tooltip player_id="962631" first="Kaleb" last="Booth"] (15.1) leads a strong attack that has six players averaging at least 6.9 points a game, making them difficult to defend. Booth is a great 3-point shooter (41.8%) as is fellow junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="962671" first="Nick" last="Macke"] (11.1, 42.0 3P%). Seniors <strong>Tory Feldman</strong> (9.8), [player_tooltip player_id="964871" first="Colby" last="Christensen"] (9.7), <strong>Treyton Goins</strong> (8.1) and [player_tooltip player_id="964938" first="Kelin" last="Jones"] (6.9) give this group a wealth of experience, which could prove vital late in these postseason games, and Booth is a nearly 87% free-throw shooter, which is also huge. The slightly wider array of scoring threats gives Carroll an edge over the teams at the bottom of the bracket. </p> <p><strong>The biggest threat:</strong> Playing against largely 4A competition gives <strong>LeMars</strong> an edge in the strength of schedule department, but the Bulldogs won’t be intimidated by Carroll or any other team in this substate. They’re paced by a talented backcourt in seniors [player_tooltip player_id="796129" first="Spencer" last="Mackey"] (14.9) and [player_tooltip player_id="964800" first="Alec" last="Dreckman"] (11.8), and junior <strong>Caleb Dreckman</strong> (10.5). They do an excellent job protecting the basketball, turning the ball over just 8.1 times a game, and, like Carroll, they’re a good free-throw shooting team, shooting 73.5% from the stripe as a team. </p> [caption id="attachment_1052567" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Majok-Majouk.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1052567" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Majok-Majouk-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Majouk[/caption] <p><strong>The dark horse:</strong> Coach Adam Vander Schaaf has led <strong>Sergeant Bluff-Luton</strong> to State four years in a row, and he has a tendency to get the best out of his teams late in the year. This year is no exception, as the Warriors have won five straight as of the time of this writing, and appear to be peaking late in the year again. Like LeMars, the Warriors play in the Missouri River Conference, so they play largely 4A competition all year, which certainly helps come postseason play. They’re led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id="796115" first="Jake" last="Layman"] (12.1) and [player_tooltip player_id="964797" first="Majok" last="Majouk"] (10.2), both of whom will play college ball at Southwest Minnesota State. This is a big, long and physical team that will lock teams down and create all sorts of issues with their versatility. They were swept in the regular season by LeMars, but this group is going to be very dangerous. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span><br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962631" first="Kaleb" last="Booth"], Carroll<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962671" first="Nick" last="Macke"], Carroll<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964800" first="Alec" last="Dreckman"], LeMars<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796129" first="Spencer" last="Mackey"], LeMars<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796115" first="Jake" last="Layman"], Sergeant Bluff-Luton<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964797" first="Majok" last="Majouk"], Sergeant Bluff-Luton<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964867" first="Jamuo" last="Gatwech"], Storm Lake<br /> 2021 Braiden Heiden, Denison-Schleswig<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962670" first="Christian" last="Vietor"], Sioux Center<br /> 2023 Ayden Klein, MOC-Floyd Valley</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="text-align: center;">SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</h3> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Carroll vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton</em></p> <p>Sergeant Bluff-Luton always has a tendency to be peaking late in the season, and we think they'll beat LeMars in the third meeting, setting up a good matchup with the potent Carroll offensive attack. While the Warriors have a great defensive team, <strong>Carroll</strong> has too many scoring options, and the Tigers make their way to Des Moines for the first time since 2010.</p>