2A Substate Games

[theocia]

Hoping the weather doesn't cause any delays.
Here's the match-ups (w/ BCMoore ranki):

Van Meter vs. AHSTW, Avoca @ Atlantic 19 vs 25
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll vs. Alta/Aurelia @ Denison-Schleswig 2 vs 22
Dike-New Hartford vs. Cascade, Western Dubuque @ Independence 6 vs 7
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura vs. Osage @ Mason City 10 vs 16
Sioux Center vs. Western Christian, Hull @ MOC-Floyd Valley 8 vs 1
Camanche vs. West Branch @ Muscatine 4 vs 23
East Marshall, LeGrand vs. South Hamilton, Jewell @ Nevada 21 vs 12
Highland, Riverside vs. Pella Christian @ Oskaloosa 37 vs 3

 

[theocia]

Computer says PC, Camanche, & Keumper have the easiest path to the Well. I agree.
DNH/Cascade must be the game to watch.
Alta-Aurelia can't get any love despite a great record (anybody know anything about them).
Sioux Center gets one tough game after another. If they make it, they earned it.

 

[VanderHoops]

Alta has decent size, balanced scoring, and a slow-down half court game. Really weak schedule, but they showed up and won every night (kinda like Danville in previous years). Will have their hands full with Keumper.

Don't know what to expect from Western/SC. Western beat them in their season opener by 16 with minimal practice and w/o their leading scorer.
A lot has changed for both teams since then. SC is the unpredictable team no one wants to play. I think they will live or die at the hand of their point guard Arends. He will have to have a HUGE night behind the arc. They have a couple good guards that come off the bench that could cause some damage as well.
Western isn't playing their best ball right now. Time to snap out of it!

 

[PNation]

To me the GHV vs. Osage game is greatly undervalued by the BC Moore rankings

 

[NWIowaSioux]

I'll take western by 4. SC is a good team with great athletes but they didn't have a strong ending to their season. They did have a comeback against Sheldon so maybe they pull it off. Will be a tight game all the way through.

 

[GatorBait1988]

Picks:
Van Meter
Kuemper Catholic
Dike-New Hartford
Osage
Western Christian
Camanche
East Marshall
Pella Christian

I believe PC and WC are the class of 2A. KC and DNH will be tough as well. Watch out for Camanche, they bring some deadly shooting to the game and can definitely surprise you.

Good luck to all the teams!

 

[NWIowaSioux]

Western over SC 71-67

Spot on with my 4 point prediction

 

[GatorBait1988]

2A State Tournament (In no order)
Van Meter
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll
Cascade, Western Dubuque
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
Western Christian, Hull
Camanche
South Hamilton, Jewell
Pella Christian

 

[VanderHoops]

Western over SC 71-67
Spot on with my 4 point prediction

Great game to watch.

Was a tale of the point guards.
Gesink played a nearly perfect game for Western on both sides of the ball. Almost double-digits in steals that converted to transition points.
Arends shot well for SC, but a LOT of turnovers & poor decisions down the stretch.

Western did not shoot well, but stepped it up on D.

I would have taken Western, SC, WL, RV, or Sheldon to at least win their first round in DM.

 

[HawkPT]

Western no doubt had the toughest trail in district/substate, but it will be interesting to see how the seeding plays out.

Pella Christian finished 2nd in the Little Hawkeye Conference behind 3A #1 Pella, and PC split with them this year.

Pella Christian played 11 teams in substate final games, 8 of which are in 3A and 2 in 4A. They gave Van Meter, another 2A state qualifier, their only loss, and they did it on their court.

Two of their losses were to Oskaloosa, which faces Mount Pleasant to make the 3A state tournament in what should be a great game. The other two losses occurred when Kacmarynski was out with a sprained ankle.

I think PC has a strong argument for the #1 seed, and according to the old system would be #8. For all the grief they get (much of it deserved, in my opinion), I'm glad the IHSAA changed the seeding process.

 

[sarcastico]

I am very interested to see how the seeding all works out. Pella Christian has clearly played the hardest schedule. I don't think Western is all that far behind though in terms of strength of schedule with their only two losses to good 3A teams. Kuemper has a pretty strong resume as well.

So will PC having more losses hurt them? Will the coaches consider injuries in their rankings? Will they even take strength of schedule into consideration? Or will the coaches still just seed based on straight record?

Lot's of questions to be answered. I can't wait to see what happens. I think this is one of the stronger 2A fields we have seen in a while. However the matchups end up I expect a lot of good games down in Des Moines.

 

[GatorBait1988]

I would have to say Pella Christian is deserving of the 1 seed. The district they play in is unreal and they finished 2nd to #1 3A Pella. WC is tough, but I just think Pella Christian is the class of 2A when healthy.

 

[VanderHoops]

I would have to say Pella Christian is deserving of the 1 seed. The district they play in is unreal and they finished 2nd to #1 3A Pella. WC is tough, but I just think Pella Christian is the class of 2A when healthy.

Um,
Western has been ranked #1 most of the year, they are #1 according to BCMoore, their district is ranked #1, they are the defending champs, and they survived a region that featured 6 of the top 20 2A teams.

 

[HawkPT]

Um,
Western has been ranked #1 most of the year, they are #1 according to BCMoore, their district is ranked #1, they are the defending champs, and they survived a region that featured 6 of the top 20 2A teams.

Look at who PC played all year on BCMoore.

 

[theocia]

I would have taken Western, SC, WL, RV, or Sheldon to at least win their first round in DM.

Agree.

Went to this game last night planning to root for the underdog and see SC upset Western.

Changed my mind when I had to sit behind the Sioux Center student body and hear them taunting the other crowd long before the game was decided. (Hint: save the cocky cheers for when your team has it wrapped up & you won't have to eat so much crow later.)

Only saw SC play Unity 2X until now, but they looked more like a group of individuals than a cohesive team. Definitely turned off by PG applauding himself after every made shot and doing little when his teammates made a good play.
Some big 3's by SC down the stretch, but Western made enough FT's and SC ran out of timeouts.
Definitely some good players, but the better team won.

 

[theocia]

Look at who PC played all year on BCMoore.

That what BCMoore does. An analysis of the entire season with SOS being one factor. According to the math, PC is 3rd best.
(Anamosa had the 2nd hardest schedule, doesn't make them a great team)

I think an argument could be made for PC, Western, or Kuemper, maybe Camanche?

 

[GatorBait1988]

Um,
Western has been ranked #1 most of the year, they are #1 according to BCMoore, their district is ranked #1, they are the defending champs, and they survived a region that featured 6 of the top 20 2A teams.

PC Schedule:
1). 2 wins against Dallas Center-Grimes, still in 3A playoffs and ranked 10th in their class by BC.
2). Beat Des Moines Christian, ranked 17th by BC in their class.
3). Lost to Oskaloosa twice, still in 3A playoffs and ranked 8th in their class by BC.
4). 2 wins against Grinnell, still in 3A playoffs and ranked 14th by BC in their class.
5). Split with Pella High, still in 3A playoffs and ranked 2nd by BC in their class.
6). Split with Norwalk, ranked 15th in 3A rankings by BC.
7). 2 wins against Newton, still in 4A playoffs and ranked 14th in their class by BC.

Murders row.......

 

[sarcastico]

Using BC's rankings Western has beaten the #7, 8, and 19 teams in 3A as well as the # 8, 9, and 19 teams in 2A. Not included in that is two wins over two top 5 teams from South Dakota.

Like I said, Pella Christian's schedule was tougher, but not by a whole lot. You can go back and forth on who is more deserving of that 1 seed for a long time. Both have good arguments. Luckily all this talk about who is better need to go on for long. We will get that decided on the court soon enough however the seedings work out.

 

[EagleHawk]

Using BC's rankings Western has beaten the #7, 8, and 19 teams in 3A as well as the # 8, 9, and 19 teams in 2A. Not included in that is two wins over two top 5 teams from South Dakota.

Like I said, Pella Christian's schedule was tougher, but not by a whole lot. You can go back and forth on who is more deserving of that 1 seed for a long time. Both have good arguments. Luckily all this talk about who is better need to go on for long. We will get that decided on the court soon enough however the seedings work out.

Wow, why hasn't this thread devolved into whining about why Pella and Western aren't in the private school class yet? This board is slipping

 

[#suigeneris]

Really good game Saturday night. Was hoping Sioux Center could pull it out but they ended up letting Western get on a 10-0 run to change momentum. Sioux Center hit some big shots towards the end of the game to keep the pressure on Western but Western was clutch at free throw line.

 

[Jayz10]

Agree.

Went to this game last night planning to root for the underdog and see SC upset Western.

Changed my mind when I had to sit behind the Sioux Center student body and hear them taunting the other crowd long before the game was decided. (Hint: save the cocky cheers for when your team has it wrapped up & you won't have to eat so much crow later.

1. It's long running, heated rivalry. They don't like each other. Nothing new here.
2. Western crowd is just as bad. (This Years players for Western are pretty good kids) but their crowd is just as bad. There was a guy who looked about 80 who was yelling specifically at SC players from his front row seat. I don't like it. I think it's comical. And I think that's part of the heated rivalry.

 

[VanderHoops]

...There was a guy who looked about 80 who was yelling specifically at SC players from his front row seat....

I don't look a day over 75!

But agree, rivalries are fun, but personal insults directed at the kids on the floor have no place. I think we all have a few of our own fans we'd like to put in time-out (or better yet, the back corner).