Third IHSAA Rankings Released

The third set of boys basketball rankings from the Iowa High School Athletic Association were released this morning. With the IHSAA rankings becoming the go-to ranking around the state, the Prep Hoops Iowa poll is now done for the year. That said, I serve on the Class 2A rankings committee, and will release an article each week taking a quick look at the rankings and perhaps making a few notes where I disagree with what the other committees have put together.

Class 1A

1.) (1) Marquette Catholic (11-0)
2.) (2) Madrid (11-0)
3.) (4) Woodbine (11-0)
4.) (8) MMCRU (11-2)
5.) (6) ACGC (9-1)
6.) (3) St. Mary’s, Remsen (9-2)
7.) (7) Northwood-Kensett (12-0)
8.) (5) Gladbrook-Reinbeck (9-2)
9.) (9) St. Edmond, Fort Dodge (10-2)
10.) (NR) North Linn (13-1)

Thoughts: Marquette, Madrid, and Woodbine just keep rolling along. MMCRU moves up four spots following their impressive win over St. Mary’s, and deservedly so. The Royals have been really impressive this season. It feels right to see North Linn back into the rankings, and they have a chance to make a jump with a big game against Alburnett on Tuesday night.

Class 2A

1.) (1) Western Christian (11-2)
2.) (2) Kuemper Catholic (13-1)
3.) (3) Grand View Christian (13-0)
4.) (4) West Lyon (11-2)
5.) (5) Unity Christian (9-3)
6.) (8) Grundy Center (12-0)
7.) (9) Treynor (10-1)
8.) (7) Monticello (10-1)
9.) (10) Cascade (11-2)
10.) (NR) Northeast (11-2)

Thoughts: The top five teams in these rankings have really separated themselves from the rest of the pack in 2A. The trio of RVC teams at the bottom are tough to suss out – Northeast beat Monticello but lost to Cascade. Monticello beat Cascade but lost to Northeast. Cascade beat Northeast but lost to Monticello. Return games for those three start with Northeast at Cascade on Tuesday night.

Class 3A

1.) (1) Ballard (10-0)
2.) (2) Clear Lake (10-0)
3.) (3) Decorah (10-1)
4.) (5) Knoxville (10-0)
5.) (6) MOC-Floyd Valley (10-2)
6.) (4) Wahlert Catholic (8-3)
7.) (7) ADM (9-3)
8.) (9) Storm Lake (9-1)
9.) (NR) Xavier (8-4)
10.) (10) Mount Vernon (11-1)

Thoughts: I agree with keeping Decorah at #3 despite the loss to a good Prairie team. Knoxville keeps impressing and despite the poor strength of schedule, they may be for real. We’ll learn more about Clear Lake this week as they play Grand View Christian on Saturday afternoon at the Gilbert Showcase.

Class 4A

1.) (1) Cedar Falls (11-1)
2.) (2) Valley (10-2)
3.) (4) Kennedy (9-2)
4.) (6) Linn-Mar (10-2)
5.) (7) Waukee (9-2)
6.) (3) Waukee Northwest (10-3)
7.) (10) Senior (8-2)
8.) (NR) Council Bluffs Lincoln (10-0)
9.) (5) Muscatine (9-1)
10.) (9) Dowling Catholic (9-3)

Thoughts: Despite the loss to Linn-Mar, I think Cedar Falls deserves to stay at #1 in 4A for now. They’ve put together the best resume of any team in the class with wins over teams ranked #2, 3, and 4 in this poll. After beating Sioux City East, CBAL jumps into the rankings and deserves it as the current team to beat out west.