Playoff Preview: 3A-3

<p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/3A-3.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1130411" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/3A-3.png" alt="" width="764" height="704" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_1027392" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Garrett-Baumhover-1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1027392 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Garrett-Baumhover-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Baumhover[/caption] <p><strong>The favorite:</strong> Playing in the 4A-dominant MVC gives <strong>Western Dubuque</strong> (and Wahlert Catholic for that matter), a major edge against the rest of the teams in this substate. The Bobcats have posted some impressive wins this season, with their only losses coming to Hempstead, Cedar Falls, and Senior. They’re led by a trio of very talented scorers in seniors [player_tooltip player_id="796119" first="Dylan" last="Johnson"] (16.4, 7.7 rebounds) and [player_tooltip player_id="964860" first="Garrett" last="Baumhover"] (14.7, 5.6 assists), and junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="784989" first="Nick" last="Bryant"] (11.6, 41.5 3P%). The ’Cats are a good 3-point shooting team (38.8%) and they limit turnovers (9.1 a game), despite playing high-level competition on a nightly basis, and are rightfully a fairly heavy favorite to come out of this substate. </p> <p><strong>The biggest threat:</strong> The team that presents the biggest threat to Western Dubuque is probably <strong>Wahlert Catholic</strong>, who have played the Bobcats twice this year, with their losses coming by a combined three points. The Golden Eagles have one double-figure scorer in senior <strong>Nathan Donovan</strong> (13.6), but have four others averaging between 8.6 and 9.8 points a game. They pound the offensive glass, pulling down over 10 offensive boards a game, and have a senior guard in [player_tooltip player_id="964839" first="TJ" last="Fowler"] (9.8) who can get hot and carry this group. They don’t have great efficiency numbers, and they turn the ball over too much, but they have a tendency to ugly games up, and they’re battle-tested in the MVC.</p> <p><strong>The dark horse:</strong> The favorite to come out of the bottom of the bracket at this point is probably <strong>Crestwood</strong>, who beat likely semifinal opponent Decorah 69-51 back on January 21. Their second meeting is tonight (February 16). The Cadets are led by scoring by senior [player_tooltip player_id="964925" first="Reid" last="Wiley"] (17.3), but the real difference-maker is stat-sheeting stuffing guard [player_tooltip player_id="965115" first="Carter" last="Henry"] (8.4, 8.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists), who can dominate games without scoring. Getting the third meeting with Decorah in their home gym gives the Cadets another edge over the Vikings at the bottom of this bracket. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span><br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796119" first="Dylan" last="Johnson"], Western Dubquue<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964860" first="Garrett" last="Baumhover"], Western Dubuque<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="784989" first="Nick" last="Bryant"], Western Dubuque<br /> 2021 Nathan Donovan, Wahlert Catholic<br /> 2023 Duke Faley, Wahlert Catholic<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="965115" first="Carter" last="Henry"], Crestwood<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964925" first="Reid" last="Wiley"], Crestwood<br /> 2021 JJ Ritter, Charles City<br /> 2023 Chase Low, Charles City<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796182" first="Caleb" last="Burks"], Waverly-Shell Rock<br /> 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964864" first="Charles" last="Robinson"], Decorah<br /> 2022 Joseph Bockman, Decorah</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="text-align: center;">SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</h3> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Western Dubuque vs. Crestwood</em></p> <p><strong>Western Dubuque’s</strong> major edge in competition throughout the year, and their dynamic trio of scorers, helps lead the Bobcats back to State for the first time since 2012 in a strong win over Crestwood.</p>