Games of the Week (Week 7)
MONDAY (Jan. 15)
Game of the night: Dike-New Hartford at Jesup
It’s a fairly quiet night of basketball on Monday, with only four ranked teams in action (Aplington-Parkersburg, Charles City, Treynor, Remsen St. Mary’s), and all four are heavy favorites. That leaves this NICL matchup as the top one on the docket. Dike-New Hartford won the first matchup this year, 63-54, at home, so the J-Hawks will be looking to exact some revenge. Jesup has won five straight games, and has held four straight opponents to 36 points or fewer. They’ll have a much more difficult task against a Wolverines unit that is averaging 63.7 points a game. The matchup to watch here will be in the paint between Colton Harberts and Landon Borrett. Whoever is able to get the upper hand there, especially on the glass, should have an edge in this one.
Our pick: Dike-New Hartford 58, Jesup 54
Others to monitor
Greene County at Winterset
3A No. 7 Charles City at Independence
TUESDAY (Jan. 16)
Game of the night: 4A No. 1 Iowa City West at 4A No. 9 Cedar Falls
A huge Tuesday slate of games is headlined by this one. The top ranked Trojans have cruised to a 10-0 record, winning games by an average of 20 points a game, while Cedar Falls is one of the state’s hottest teams, winning five straight behind the play of electric guard AJ Green. The sharpshooting guard is averaging 25.7 points a game and is among the most deadly 3-point shooters in the state. West will have a big edge on the interior, as the duo of 6-8 Patrick McCaffery and 6-7 Seybian Sims combine to average 36.9 points and 14.4 rebounds a game on 59.2% shooting. The emergence of junior guard Dante Eldridge (12.0 points, 45.2 3P%) has added another dimension to their attack, and Evan Flitz (8.0, 46.4 3P%) is playing good basketball now after a slow start coming back from football. The edge that McCaffery and Sims give the Trojans on the glass and in the paint should give West a pretty hefty advantage and help carry them to a win, despite what will likely be another big game from Green.
Our pick: Iowa City West 72, Cedar Falls 63
Others to monitor
Kuemper Catholic at Atlantic
Cedar Rapids Prairie at Davenport North
3A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier at Dubuque Hempstead
Iowa Mennonite at Highland, Riverside
1A No. 5 Lynnville-Sully at Montezuma
Iowa City Liberty at 1A No. 2 North Linn
1A No. 6 George-Little Rock at Rock Valley
2A No. 6 Sioux Center at 2A No. 3 Sheldon
Unity Christian at 1A No. 8 South O’Brien
2A No. 4 Western Christian at 3A No. 8 Spirit Lake
4A No. 6 Des Moines North at West Des Moines Valley
4A No. 2 Johnston at 4A No. 8 Waukee
1A No. 3 Remsen, St. Mary’s at West Sioux
THURSDAY (Jan. 18)
Game of the night: 3A No. 6 Sioux City Bishop Heelan at 4A No. 3 Sioux City East
Heelan won the first game of the season series this year, 70-59 back on December 12th at Heelan. Elijah Hazekamp had a huge game, scoring 27 points and grabbing 21 rebounds, but he shot just 5-14 from the floor in that game and was carried by a 15-16 performance from the free throw line. East big man Van Rees only had 10 points and five rebounds in that game, battling some foul trouble. If he gets in foul trouble again, it would set up for another huge Hazekamp game. That said, we’ll give the edge to the Black Raiders, looking for revenge and playing at home. Rees should be more effective this go around.
Our pick: Sioux City East 70, Sioux City Bishop Heelan 64
Others to monitor
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto at East Sac County
1A No. 7 Dunkerton at Gladbrook-Reinbeck
2A No. 6 Sioux Center at Unity Christian
Dike-New Hartford at West Fork
FRIDAY (Jan. 19)
Game of the night: 4A No. 2 Johnston at 4A No. 10 West Des Moines Dowling
It’s a surprisingly light slate of quality games on Friday night, with this the only ranked vs. ranked matchup among state teams (Tea Area at Western Christian is also ranked vs. ranked). Johnston won the first meeting this season, 56-53, at home, and this game pits two of the best defensive teams against each other. Johnston leads Class 4A in scoring defense, allowing just 43.2 points a game, while Dowling is 10th, allowing 49.1 a night. Expect to see a low scoring, drag-it-out affair. Dowling shot 42% from the floor in the first meeting, while Johnston shot 51.2%. We expect to see those percentages even out a bit and for the Maroons, led by point guard Sam Ingoli (16.0) to grab a nice, low-scoring home win.
Our pick: West Des Moines Dowling 48, Johnston 44
Others to monitor
East Sac County at Alta/Aurelia
4A No. 9 Cedar Falls at Cedar Rapids Kennedy
Linn-Mar at Dubuque Senior
Muscatine at 4A No. 4 North Scott
Dallas Center-Grimes at 3A No. 4 Norwalk
2A No. 3 Sheldon at Rock Valley
Tea Area (SD) at 2A No. 4 Western Christian
SATURDAY (Jan. 20)
Game of the night: 3A No. 7 Charles City vs. 3A No. 2 Mount Pleasant
This game will be played in Cedar Rapids at the US Cellular Center as part of the Wells Fargo Advisors Shootout, as will the Sioux City East/Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Osage/Cascade, Cedar Rapids Prairie/Iowa City West and Solon/Cedar Rapids Xavier games listed below. This one gives us a fantastic point guard matchup between Charles City’s Jackson Molstead (19.3) and Mount Pleasant’s Brady Sartorius (23.5). The Panthers have really tested themselves in the non-conference portion of their schedule, playing top-notch competition to prepare themselves for a state tournament run, and those games against Xavier, Hempstead and Linn-Mar, among others, should help them overcome a good Comets team here. Sartorius is too good, and he should get plenty of help from Jordan Magnani. Look for the Panthers to find a way to limit Molstead’s help better than the Comets limit Sartorius’, while Mount Pleasant adds another impressive win to their resume.
Our pick: Mount Pleasant 66, Charles City 57
Others to monitor
2A No. 10 Treynor at 3A No. 6 Sioux City Bishop Heelan
4A No. 3 Sioux City East vs. Cedar Rapids Kennedy
Osage vs. 2A No. 2 Cascade
2A No. 7 Aplington-Parkersburg at 1A No. 7 Dunkerton
Cedar Rapids Prairie vs. 4A No. 1 Iowa City West
West Sioux at West Lyon
Solon vs. 3A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier