Games of the Week (Week 1)
MONDAY (Dec. 2) Game of the night: New Hampton at Turkey Valley This is an interesting non-conference matchup to open the season between a good 2A program (New Hampton) and a 1A program in Turkey Valley that starts the year…
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Continue ReadingMONDAY (Dec. 2)
Game of the night: New Hampton at Turkey Valley
This is an interesting non-conference matchup to open the season between a good 2A program (New Hampton) and a 1A program in Turkey Valley that starts the year just outside our top 10. Turkey Valley brings back four starters and 90.2% of their scoring from last year’s 18-win team, and is essentially getting a fifth starter back with the return of Keegan Balk, who started as a sophomore before missing last season. The matchup to watch here is between New Hampton’s sophomore big man Drake Wemark, and Turkey Valley’s senior Ethan Leibold. Wemark is an athletic big who runs the floor really well and has good touch around the rim, while Leibold is a double-double machine who averaged 17.6 points and 13.2 rebounds last season. The Trojans were strong on the defensive end last year, allowing just 43.7 points a game, and they’ll need to lock up Wemark and Connor Rochford here. New Hampton won last year’s meeting handily, 63-38, but we expect a veteran Turkey Valley team to get revenge tonight against a New Hampton team breaking in a lot of new pieces.
Our pick: Turkey Valley 61, New Hampton 54
Others to monitor
2A #9 South Central Calhoun at Audubon
Madrid at Southeast Valley
1A #10 Bishop Garrigan at St. Edmond
TUESDAY (Dec. 3)
Game of the night: 4A #3 Dowling Catholic at 4A #5 Iowa City West
Omaha BiliewIt doesn’t get much better than this for opening week. A pair of top 5 teams in 4A. A pair of Division I big men in West’s Even Brauns (Belmont) and Dowling’s Ryan Riggs. And the debut of freshman phenom Omaha Biliew for Dowling. The Maroons were a surprise State qualifier last year, probably reaching Wells Fargo a year ahead of schedule. They bring back their top three scorers from that group in Riggs (12.2), Matt Stilwill (13.3) and Drew Daniel (8.1), and five of the top six from last year return in all. Riggs is a really talented, 6-9 big man who does a bit of everything. He’ll have his hands full with Brauns, a fellow 6-9 big man who runs the floor and finishes. Brauns will be the go-to option this year for West following the graduation of Patrick McCaffery, and he’ll need to be dominant on both ends of the floor. Marcus Morgan and Nick Pepin provide shooting and playmaking on the wings for West, but the Trojans will be breaking in a lot of new pieces outside of that trio. The big story here, however, will be the debut of Biliew, a 6-8 wing who is widely regarded among the top 5-10 players in the 2023 class nationally. He’s a unique blend of athleticism, grace and power, and he has the ability to score from anywhere, handle it, pass it and defend. He should be an immediate impact player for the Maroons, and if he’s as good as advertised, West won’t have anyone who can slow him down (nor does anyone in the state). The Maroons have more experience back, and they’re going to be really physical all year. They’ll be looking to announce themselves as the team to beat in 4A this year, and they could make a major statement with a win at West to open the season.
Our pick: Dowling Catholic 68, West 60
Others to monitor
Pella Christian at ADM
Prince of Peace at 1A #8 Alburnett
MOC-Floyd Valley at 2A #4 Boyden-Hull
4A #10 Dubuque Hempstead at Davenport Central
Spencer at 4A #6 Sioux City East
2A #5 West Sioux at 1A #4 South O’Brien
4A #8 Ankeny Centennial at Southeast Polk
2A #7 Regina at Tipton
Decorah at 3A #8 Wahlert Catholic
1A #1 Lake Mills at West Hancock
THURSDAY (Dec. 5)
Game of the night: Davenport Central at Dubuque Senior
Emarion EllisThese two teams met last year in Davenport, with Central taking home a 66-59 win over a Senior team we had ranked #1 to open the year. Senior went on to be really good, losing in the 4A title game to Cedar Falls, but they lose just about everyone from that group. Word on the street, however, is that the Rams will be good again this year, and playing a much different style than we’re used to seeing. Expect to see Senior playing a much more up-tempo, pressing and frantic style as opposed to their grind-it-out style that they’ve played for the last several years. That could play right into the hands of a Central team that returns a lot of talent and athleticism. Three starters return for the Blue Devils in John Miller, Kaiden Phillips and Amari Porter, but the most important piece may be Emarion Ellis, an athletic, scoring wing who averaged 8.6 points a game last season off the bench, but had one of the best springs of any player in the state. He’s a dynamic scorer. Miller and Porter will pair with him in the backcourt, while Phillips is a nice, long wing who can defend multiple positions. This group struggled at times with turnovers last season, and we’ll see how the Senior pressure impacts them. If they’ve grown and matured, they could shred the press and get easy buckets. This will be an interesting early season gauge on the MAC vs. MVC.
Our pick: Davenport Central 72, Senior 59
Others to monitor
1A #5 Martensdale-St. Mary’s at Woodward-Granger
FRIDAY (Dec. 6)
Game of the night: West Des Moines Valley at 4A #3 Dowling Catholic
Ryan RiggsDowling’s huge opening week continues on Friday night, with a tilt against their biggest rival, Valley. Valley has a talented big man of their own in Will Berg, who has racked up a number of low-to-mid-major offers over the summer. The battle between him and Ryan Riggs should be excellent. Jake Auer is Valley’s leading returning scorer, a talented guard who can really fill it up, and Drew Jirak is another wing who can shoot it. They’ll get a boost from Ty Walker, who led Des Moines Roosevelt in scoring last season and transferred to Valley. The Tigers always go deep, and they should again this season. That depth may come in handy here against a Dowling team that is going to draw a lot of fouls throughout this season. Valley won the only meeting between these schools, 63-36, last season, but we don’t see that happening again. The Maroons have a lot of talent, and their depth should match that of Valley.
Our pick: Dowling Catholic 54, Valley 46
Others to monitor
Grinnell at 3A #2 Oskaloosa
Pella Christian at 3A #7 Pella
Assumption at 3A #8 Wahlert Catholic
2A #5 West Sioux at Western Christian
SATURDAY (Dec. 7)
Game of the night: Dallas Center-Grimes at 2A #8 Des Moines Christian
Cole GlasgowThis should be a good game between a DC-G team with high expectations and a DMC team that is looking to break through and make a run at State this season. The Mustangs bring back nine of their top 11 scorers from last year’s team, led by the guard duo of Luke Rankin and Cole Glasgow, who should give DCG a high-level backcourt. Glasgow was one of the most productive freshmen in the state last year and is going to have a big sophomore season as a scorer. Look for the ‘Stangs to try and play a bit faster this season with all the experience they have coming back, and the strength of their team being in the backcourt. The Lions bring back over 80% of the scoring from last year’s 2A state qualifying team, led by athletic guard Curran Ingram, who averaged 15 a game last year. Three other starters return in Seth Juhl, Jackson Waring and Brady Hewitt, while Ben Loverude and Grant Veenstra saw lots of time last year as well. With both teams returning a lot of players, expect this to be a much cleaner game than most early season contests are. The battle between Glasgow and Ingram should be fun to watch, and we like 3A DC-G to get an impressive road win here.
Our pick: Dallas Center-Grimes 69, Des Moines Christian 62
Others to monitor
Linn-Mar at Bettendorf
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at Des Moines Hoover
Lone Tree at Keota
4A #4 North Scott at Cedar Rapids Prairie
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura at Osage
Waverly-Shell Rock at Xavier
Center Point-Urbana at Iowa City Liberty