Games of the Week (Week 7)
MONDAY (Jan. 14) Game of the night: 1A No. 2 New London at Mount Pleasant The second ranked team in 1A, New London has rolled to an 11-0 record this season, with all but two of those wins coming by…
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Continue ReadingMONDAY (Jan. 14)
Game of the night: 1A No. 2 New London at Mount Pleasant
The second ranked team in 1A, New London has rolled to an 11-0 record this season, with all but two of those wins coming by double digits. The Tigers will have their hands full Monday night against a much bigger school when they travel to Mount Pleasant. The Panthers are playing some quality basketball right now, coming off a big win over then No. 2 in 2A, Camanche. Sam Beatty (14.6) leads Mount Pleasant, and New London will need to find a way to contain him and prevent him from getting to the rim. The Tigers have a balanced attack, with five players averaging at least 9.0 a game (led by Mason Porter’s 17.5 a night), and that type of balance should benefit them here. This would be a big-time win for New London if they’re able to pull it off.
Our pick: New London 66, Mount Pleasant 62
Others to monitor
Cedar Rapids Washington at Fairfield
Pella Christian at West Marshall
PCM at Pella
Cliff McCray
TUESDAY (Jan. 15)
Game of the night: 4A No. 3 Sioux City East at Sioux City West
I called for West to beat East on this date in our preseason top 10 piece, and in the piece previewing their earlier meeting this season, and I’m sticking to it. The Wolverines have lost to East 33 straight times, with their last win in the series coming on December 5, 2003. That ends on Tuesday night. East has certainly been impressive this season, running out to a 10-0 record and the No. 3 spot in our 4A rankings, led by Aidan Vanderloo (23.2 points a game), who is having a monster senior season. One of the biggest keys to this one will be West keeping Javonte Keck off the glass. The senior wing had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the first meeting, with eight of those rebounds of the offensive variety. Cliff McCray, Adien Belt and crew will need to keep him off the offensive glass, and shoot better from the arc (6-31 in the first meeting) if they want to pull the upset. Playing at home, the Wolverines have just enough firepower to pull this one off and finally end the long losing streak.
Our pick: Sioux City West 72, Sioux City East 69
Others to monitor
Moravia at 1A No. 4 Ankeny Christian Academy
1A No. 1 Grand View Christian at Bedford
Cascade at 2A No. 7 Camanche
Cedar Rapids Kennedy at 4A No. 6 Dubuque Senior
1A No. 6 Ar-We-Va at 1A No. 8 Exira-EHK
1A No. 3 Montezuma at Lynnville-Sully
Dubuque Wahlert at Cedar Rapids Prairie
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at 3A No. 3 Sergeant Bluff-Luton
2A No. 2 West Sioux at Remsen, St. Mary’s
3A No. 7 Carroll at Storm Lake
Ankeny at 4A No. 5 West Des Moines Valley
Dyersville Beckman at West Delaware
Spirit Lake at 2A No. 10 Western Christian
THURSDAY (Jan. 17)
Game of the night: West Fork at 2A No. 8 Dike-New Hartford
West Fork enters the week scuffling a bit, having lost two straight games, and it doesn’t get much easier with a trip to D-NH on the horizon. The Warhawks are led by senior wing Zach Martinek (20.2), a versatile scoring threat who is capable of taking over any given game, but he’ll need to be outstanding if the Warhawks are going to knock off the Wolverines here. A smaller team, West Fork will likely struggle against D-NH big man Colton Harberts (15.2), a dominant low post player who should be able to score and rebound without much resistance here. The Wolverines have a veteran team with lots of different pieces, and unless Martinek goes crazy, D-NH should add another quality win to their resume.
Our pick: Dike-New Hartford 66, West Fork 56
Others to monitor
Unity Christian at Sioux Center
FRIDAY (Jan. 18)
Game of the night: 4A No. 2 Waukee at 4A No. 5 West Des Moines Valley
There’s a very strong argument to be made to have Waukee ranked atop the 4A rankings, as the Warriors have rolled to a 10-0 mark, winning games by an average of 26 points, with the best defense in the class, allowing just 41.4 points a game. Led by lead guard Noah Hart (12.6 points, 57 assists to 11 turnovers), they also have a remarkably efficient offense that is averaging 67 points a game with absurd 57-45-70 shooting splits as a team. Dylan Jones (13.1 points) has been dominant and efficient on both ends of teh floor, and Tucker DeVries (10.9) has given them a ton of shooting and firepower off the bench. That said, they’ll have their hands full on Friday night when they travel to Valley. The Tigers have won 10 of 11 games since a season opening loss to Roosevelt, with that lone loss coming at Waukee, by a single point. Evan Obia (13.0) leads a balanced attack, and the Tigers have plenty of size with both Aguek Deng and Will Berg at 6-8. That duo will need to do a much better job against Jones this time around, after he went for 19 points and 13 rebounds (eight offensive) in the first meeting. The X-factor in this one could be the return of Valley’s junior guard Jake Auer, who has played well since returning from injury, averaging 11 points a game off the bench. He missed the first meeting, and that additional firepower could push the Tigers over the top here. Expect this one to play out similarly to their first meeting (49-48), a slower paced, grind-it-out type game with these two teams that are very familiar with each other.
Our pick: West Des Moines Valley 51, Waukee 48
Others to monitor
Calamus-Wheatland at Easton Valley
4A No. 7 Cedar Falls at Linn-Mar
West Delaware at Marion
Indianola at 3A No. 5 Norwalk
Pella Christian at 3A No. 4 Pella
Lewis Central at 3A No. 3 Sergeant Bluff-Luton
1A No. 10 Sioux Central at South Central Calhoun
2A No. 10 Western Christian at Tea Area (SD)
2A No. 5 Boyden-Hull at 1A No. 5 George-Little Rock
Monticello at West Branch
Mason City Newman at West Fork
SATURDAY (Jan. 19)
Game of the night: Johnston vs. Cedar Rapids Kennedy
We’ll have an in-depth preview, and a pick, for this game in the Wells Fargo Advisors Session II game previews article to come later this week, but this one should be a highly entertaining game that can help us gauge the strength of the CIML vs. the MVC.
Others to monitor
4A No. 4 Bettendorf vs. Cedar Rapids Washington
Don Bosco vs. 1A No. 2 New London
Charles City at Osage
1A No. 1 Grand View Christian at PCM
2A No. 5 Boyden-Hull at South O’Brien
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at 4A No. 5 West Des Moines Valley
Waverly-Shell Rock vs. West Delaware