4A Substate Quarterfinal Preview

Class 4A postseason action gets started tonight, with 32 teams taking the court. We’ll be down to 16 teams in a matter of hours. We take a look at some of the top games, teams who should be on upset alert and pick each of the 16 games.   The Top Five Games Lewis Central (10-9) at Urbandale (3-13) Lewis Central has to go on the road for this one as Urbandale got a major bump for being a CIML team. Neither team is headed in the right direction, as Lewis Central enters on a four-game losing streak (following eight straight wins), and Urbandale is on an eight-game skid. The Titans are led by junior wing Wyatt Hatcher (13.9) and they crash the offensive glass hard, pulling down 10.1 offensive boards a game. Urbandale has struggled to score, averaging just 42.1 points a game this year. The J-Hawks are led by senior Dylan SamsDylanSams5'10" | CGUrbandale | 2021StateIA (11.2) and junior Greysn Schmitz (9.5). Perhaps playing a team from a league like the Hawkeye Ten will open up some of the scoring for the J-Hawks.    Young Prairie (4-8) at Linn-Mar (7-10) Linn-Mar won the regular-season meeting, an entertaining 75-65 win back on January 12. The Lions shot 53.2% from the field and 52.4% from 3 in that win with four players in double-figures. The Lions are led in scoring by junior wing Jaxson YoungJaxsonYoung6'1" | SFLinn-Mar | 2022StateIA (11.6), an athletic scoring wing who thrives on playing downhill and getting to the bucket. Senior guards Gavyn Lamb (8.6) and Pearson MartinPearsonMartin5'8" | PGLinn-Mar | 2021StateIA (6.2) and forward Luke Passmore (7.6) headline an older, but largely inexperienced, group. Prairie has played a lot of high-scoring games this year, with their trio of double-figure scoring guards leading the way. Juniors Jake WalterJakeWalter5'10" | CGPrairie | 2022StateIA (16.0) and Elijah WardElijahWard6'1" | CGPrairie | 2022StateIA (13.8) headline the attack, while senior Caden StofferCadenStoffer6'5" | SGPrairie | 2021StateIA (11.4) gives them some more quickness and athleticism on the perimeter. This one should be an up-tempo affair.   Davenport West (7-7) at Senior (9-8) Expectations were high for Senior heading into the year, but the Rams got off to a really rough 3-8 start. They’ve won six straight heading into the postseason, looking like the team we expected to see this year. Senior big man Jim BonifasJimBonifas6'5" | PFSenior | 2021StateIA (11.2) leads a very balanced attack that has five other players averaging between 7.4 and 10.5 points a game. They’re deep and athletic, and they like to apply different pressure looks, which is something that the Falcons will have to contend with. The Falcons have done a pretty good job protecting the ball, turning it over 9.4 times a game. Senior guard John MillerJohnMiller5'10" | PGDavenport Central | 2021StateIA (17.4) is the team’s leading scorer, while junior Jermaine GardnerJermaineGardner5'11" | PGDavenport West | 2022StateIA (10.4) gives them another solid ball-handling option. Senior big man Aldane BarrettAldaneBarrett6'7" | CDavenport West | 2021StateIA (9.4, 1.9 blocks) is a big body in the paint who can protect the rim, and the matchup between him and Bonifas should be good.   Iowa City West (4-8) at Ottumwa (15-5) This game gets us a matchup between two of the top scorers in 4A - West’s Peter Moe (23.6) and Ottumwa’s Trae SwartzTraeSwartz6'4" | SFOttumwa | 2021StateIA (19.3). It’s been a rebuilding season for the Trojans, and they’ve struggled to get any momentum going with a late start due to being in virtual learning, followed by a Covid-protocol pause shortly after. Moe, a junior who moved from Indiana before the start of the year, has been a bright spot for the Trojans with his ability to score inside and out at a high clip, posting 55-40-81 shooting splits. Junior guard Christian BarnesChristianBarnes5'9" | PGIowa City West | 2022StateIA (9.7) is a strong on-ball defender who has picked up his offensive play this year, and freshman Kareem Earl (6.9, 39.3 3P%) has started to come on strong late in the year. Ottumwa has won six straight heading into the postseason, headlined by the strong play of Swartz, a big, physical wing who can score from anywhere. Junior Adam Greiner (12.9, 6.4 rebounds) has played well, emerging as a solid secondary scoring threat. The ’Dogs have been strong defensively this year, allowing just 49.8 points a game, which is good for 9th in 4A. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of game plan they come up with for Moe.    Roosevelt (6-11) at Marshalltown (6-12) These are a pair of CIML teams that are going through a bit of a youth movement and looking to gain some momentum heading into next year. Roosevelt is led by senior Jakari BradleyJakariBradley6'1" | SFRoosevelt | 2021StateIA (11.1), but three of their top five scorers are sophomores in Sam King (10.9), Jamison Patton (8.8) and George Williams (5.4). The top three scorers for Marshalltown are junior Armonniey ThomasArmonnieyThomas6'0" | CGMarshalltown | 2022StateIA (16.8) and sophomores Prince Jallah (12.6) and Drake Kapayou (9.7). Thomas is a dynamic two-way player with length, speed and athleticism to burn, while Jallah is a long, athletic forward who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. It’s unlikely that either of these teams make a run this year, but they’ll both be teams to monitor heading into next year, and gaining any postseason experience they can will be valuable.    Upset Alert Ottumwa: Ottumwa is the better team, and they’re hot heading into the postseason. West has a big-time scorer in Peter Moe who could take over a game, so the ’Dogs will need to find a way to slow him down. Burlington: The Grayhounds are taking on former conference rival Bettendorf, and the Bulldogs have historically dominated this series. Burlington moved to the Southeast Conference, which is a better fit for them but they play much softer competition on a nightly basis than the Bulldogs. The size, physicality and athleticism of Bettendorf will be a tough matchup for Burlington, but at the end of the day, their guard play may be a little too much for Bettendorf.  Des Moines North: The Polar Bears blasted East in the most recent meeting, 87-56, but they won by just one in January, 83-82. With the style that North likes to play, they can be vulnerable to upsets. Urbandale: The J-Hawks are higher-seeded team, but they’ve won just three games this year. Lewis Central has a go-to scorer in Hatcher and they should be able to score on Urbandale.    Picking all 16 Substate 1: Sioux City West over Council Bluffs Jefferson, Sioux City East over Sioux City North Substate 2: Indianola over Des Moines Lincoln, Hoover over Fort Dodge Substate 3: Linn-Mar over Prairie, Iowa City West over Ottumwa Substate 4: Waterloo East over City High, Waterloo West over Cedar Rapids Jefferson Substate 5: Senior over Davenport West, Muscatine over Clinton Substate 6: Bettendorf over Burlington, Davenport North over Davenport Central Substate 7: Lewis Central over Urbandale, Des Moines North over Des Moines East Substate 8: Marshalltown over Roosevelt, Norwalk over Mason City