Games of the Week (Week 1)
Xavier PG Matt Mims will look to get the defending champion Saints off to a strong start MONDAY (Nov. 28) Game of the night: Mount Pleasant at Cedar Rapids Xavier The season kicks off with a bang, with a pair…
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Continue ReadingMONDAY (Nov. 28)
Game of the night: Mount Pleasant at Cedar Rapids Xavier
The season kicks off with a bang, with a pair of top-five teams in our preseason top 10 in 3A doing battle in Cedar Rapids. The point guard matchup between Brady Sartorius (Mount Pleasant) and Matthew Mims (Xavier) will be worth the price of admission alone. Throw in the other talent that both No. 5 Mount Pleasant and defending champion, and No. 1, Xavier will throw on the floor, and you’ve got a doozy to begin the year with.
Others to monitor
Keota at Lone Tree
North Scott at Dubuque Wahlert
TUESDAY (Nov. 29)
Game of the night: Des Moines North at Waukee
A pair of CIML rivals, and preseason top 10 teams in 4A, face off in this one. No. 10 North figures to be one of the most entertaining teams in the state to watch all year, with electric point guard Tyreke Locure finding uber-athletic wing Jal Bijiek on a number of alley-oops. Their up-tempo style will provide highlights all season. No. 3 Waukee has an exciting mix of veteran experience and young talent, with talented players all over, inside (Jacob Rau) and out (Drew Johnson, Cade Longnecker). This will be the varsity debuts for a pair of Warrior sophomores, guard Noah Hart and forward Dylan Jones, who both figure to make major impacts for a Waukee team that has a chance to win a state title this year.
Others to monitor
Des Moines Hoover at Ankeny
Maquoketa at Center Point-Urbana
Grand View Christian at Pella
Mount Vernon at Benton Community
Carroll at Carroll Kuemper
ADM, Adel at Pella Christian
Belle Plaine at Keota
THURSDAY (Dec. 1)
Game of the night: Cedar Rapids Washington at Bettendorf
Thursdays are generally pretty lightly scheduled nights, but this MVC-MAC matchup should be a good one. Washington is led by a dynamic point guard in junior Hunter Strait and will be looking to break through and elevate themselves towards the top of the Valley this year. Bettendorf figures to be one of three teams battling it out for the title in the MAC, with a veteran group returning from last year’s successful team. The matchup between Strait and JMichael Young will be fun to watch, and this game will provide some early insight into both conferences.
Others to monitor
Muscatine at Iowa City High
Dike-New Hartford at Charles City
FRIDAY (Dec. 2)
Game of the night: Marian Central Catholic (IL) at Iowa City West
The No. 1 team in Class 4A opens their season hosting a very good team from the Chicagoland area in Marian Central Catholic, a group filled with talented guards. Ahron Ulis, younger brother of former Kentucky standout Tyler Ulis, is a talented freshman who will make an impact for Marian Central, while Brandon Hurt is ranked 8th and Chase Adams 39th in Prep Hoops Illinois’ 2018 rankings. This should be a good test for a West team that is replacing lots of talent, but brings back the top two players in the 2017 class (Connor McCaffery, Devontae Lane), as well as an expanded role for the top ranked 2019 (Patrick McCaffery).
Others to monitor
Dubuque Senior at Davenport Central
West Des Moines Valley at Des Moines Hoover
Ames at Johnston
Council Bluffs St. Albert at Atlantic
Grinnell at Pella
Pleasantville at Central Decatur
Lisbon at North Linn
SATURDAY (Dec. 3)
Game of the night: Cedar Falls at Hopkins (MN)
Junior sensation A.J. Green will have his hands full with the defending AAAA champions in Minnesota in Hopkins. Hopkins is loaded year-in, year-out, and they really get up into opposing players on the defensive end. This will be a good test for Green and a young Cedar Falls team that will be looking for other players to step up following the graduation of Tra’Von Fagan and transfer of Treyshawn LaBeaux.
Others to monitor
Cedar Rapids Xavier at Waverly-Shell Rock
Osage at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
Sioux Center at Western Christian
MOC-Floyd Valley at Central Lyon
West Des Moines Valley at Davenport Assumption
Des Moines Hoover vs. DeLaSalle (MN) [Game played at Hopkins High School (MN)]