As has been said in previous posts, 3A is the toughest class to make predictions about. Because it's more wide open, I've got B.C. Moore's power rankings and Quikstats latest facts in front of me. There could be a lot to disagree with in the following sections, so jump in and speak your mind.
Substate 1- Sioux City Heelan, Humboldt, LeMars., MOC, Sergeant Bluff-Luten, Spencer, Spirit Lake and Storm Lake. With seven of B.C. Moore's top 30 3A power teams, this is easily the toughest substate, and every game should be a donnybrook. Spirit Lake's big man, Owen Coburn, has been injured, and I don't know if he will be able to play in the substates. The 6-10 big man would be a major difference-maker. One team stands out, and recently they beat 4A power, Sioux City East. Sergeant Bluff- Luten is also B.C. Moore's second ranked team in 3A, and they are the 19th ranked team in the state, regardless of class. Favorite: Sergeant Bluff- Luten.
Substate 2- Agona, Charles City, Clear Lake, Decorah, Hampton-Dumont/CAL, Iowa Falls- Alden, Waverly Shell Rock and Webster City. Charles City and Clear lake are the only teams in B.C. Moore's top 30. Waverly is having a down year, and Clear Lake recently beat them. This is probably one of the weakest substates, and Clear Lake, undefeated at 21-0, ranked #10 in 3A on the power ratings, should prevail. Favorite: Clear Lake.
Substate 3- Davenport Assumption, Benton Community, Center Point-Urbana, Clear Creek- Amana, Vinton-Shellsburg, West Delaware, West Liberty and Cedar Rapids Xavier. This substate has four of B.C. Moore's top thirty teams- Xavier, Assumption, Center Point-Urbana and West Delaware. This one is difficult to pick. I've seen three of them play. West Delaware has the most wins, with 14, and Assumption has 12 or 13 wins, but some of them are against awful teams, like Muscatine and Clinton, both winless, I think. What the heck-- Favorite: West Delaware.
Substate 4- Anamosa, Central DeWitt, Independence, Maquoketa, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Solon and Dubuque Wahlert. Five teams in B.C. Moore's top 33. Maybe not like Substate 1, but this substate is a minefield. Last year, Mount Vernon out-defensed a good Wahlert team that had just beaten CR Prairie by 26. Mount Vernon won. Marion won this substate last year and went to state, and is a very dangerous team again his year. Maquoketa had been #1 in 3A much of the season and is B.C. Moore's #5 team in his power ratings. Their 6-3 guard Abe Becker just broke the state three-point record with 13 in a recent game. Favorite: Maquoketa.
Substate 5-Centerville, Fairfield, Ft. Madison, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, Oskaloosa, South Tama and Washington. Not a real strong substate this year. Fairfield and Osky in B.C. Moore's top 30. Oskaloosa has been playing its best basketball of the season lately, and if UNI- recruit Cole Henry is halfway healthy for the tourney, Xavier Foster and group should qualify to make a strong run at the 3A title in Des Moines.Favorite: Oskaloosa
Substate 6- Ballard, Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Grinnell, Knoxville, Nevada, Newton and Pella. Not a strong substate, with Ballard and Pella being top 30 power-rated teams. Four of the teams are in the bottom twenty of the 3A rankings of 64 teams. Pella has the tradition, the strength of schedule (6th), and the athletes to make some noise at state. Favorite: Pella
Substate 7- ADM, Boone, Clarke, Osceola, Gilbert, Dallas Center-Grimes, North Polk, Norwalk and Saydel. With four teams in Moore's top 30 power ratings (Norwalk is #1), this is a tough substate. I've been touting Norwalk all year as the best team in 3A, and they just may be. They play the eighth toughest schedule (Wahlert plays the toughest), and have several quality wins this year, something that the voting polls' #1 (Clear Lake) doesn't have. Gilbert is another tough team in this substate. Favorite: Norwalk.
Substate 8- Atlantic, Carroll, Creston, Denison-Schleswig, Glenwood, Perry, Winterset, Harlan. Five teams in B.C. Moore's top thirty 3A teams. This is another minefield substate, one of the toughest of the eight. Denison-Schleswig, Carroll and Glenwood each could win this substate. It is really hard to pick the winner of this substate, with so many good teams. I was so impressed last year with the way that Glenwood was coached, and how well the players played, that I am going to go with the defending 3A state champs. Favorite: Glenwood.
This is going to be such a competitive substate tourney that I would not be surprised if half my "Favorites" didn't make it to state. What do you think?
Substate 1- Sioux City Heelan, Humboldt, LeMars., MOC, Sergeant Bluff-Luten, Spencer, Spirit Lake and Storm Lake. With seven of B.C. Moore's top 30 3A power teams, this is easily the toughest substate, and every game should be a donnybrook. Spirit Lake's big man, Owen Coburn, has been injured, and I don't know if he will be able to play in the substates. The 6-10 big man would be a major difference-maker. One team stands out, and recently they beat 4A power, Sioux City East. Sergeant Bluff- Luten is also B.C. Moore's second ranked team in 3A, and they are the 19th ranked team in the state, regardless of class. Favorite: Sergeant Bluff- Luten.
Substate 2- Agona, Charles City, Clear Lake, Decorah, Hampton-Dumont/CAL, Iowa Falls- Alden, Waverly Shell Rock and Webster City. Charles City and Clear lake are the only teams in B.C. Moore's top 30. Waverly is having a down year, and Clear Lake recently beat them. This is probably one of the weakest substates, and Clear Lake, undefeated at 21-0, ranked #10 in 3A on the power ratings, should prevail. Favorite: Clear Lake.
Substate 3- Davenport Assumption, Benton Community, Center Point-Urbana, Clear Creek- Amana, Vinton-Shellsburg, West Delaware, West Liberty and Cedar Rapids Xavier. This substate has four of B.C. Moore's top thirty teams- Xavier, Assumption, Center Point-Urbana and West Delaware. This one is difficult to pick. I've seen three of them play. West Delaware has the most wins, with 14, and Assumption has 12 or 13 wins, but some of them are against awful teams, like Muscatine and Clinton, both winless, I think. What the heck-- Favorite: West Delaware.
Substate 4- Anamosa, Central DeWitt, Independence, Maquoketa, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Solon and Dubuque Wahlert. Five teams in B.C. Moore's top 33. Maybe not like Substate 1, but this substate is a minefield. Last year, Mount Vernon out-defensed a good Wahlert team that had just beaten CR Prairie by 26. Mount Vernon won. Marion won this substate last year and went to state, and is a very dangerous team again his year. Maquoketa had been #1 in 3A much of the season and is B.C. Moore's #5 team in his power ratings. Their 6-3 guard Abe Becker just broke the state three-point record with 13 in a recent game. Favorite: Maquoketa.
Substate 5-Centerville, Fairfield, Ft. Madison, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, Oskaloosa, South Tama and Washington. Not a real strong substate this year. Fairfield and Osky in B.C. Moore's top 30. Oskaloosa has been playing its best basketball of the season lately, and if UNI- recruit Cole Henry is halfway healthy for the tourney, Xavier Foster and group should qualify to make a strong run at the 3A title in Des Moines.Favorite: Oskaloosa
Substate 6- Ballard, Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Grinnell, Knoxville, Nevada, Newton and Pella. Not a strong substate, with Ballard and Pella being top 30 power-rated teams. Four of the teams are in the bottom twenty of the 3A rankings of 64 teams. Pella has the tradition, the strength of schedule (6th), and the athletes to make some noise at state. Favorite: Pella
Substate 7- ADM, Boone, Clarke, Osceola, Gilbert, Dallas Center-Grimes, North Polk, Norwalk and Saydel. With four teams in Moore's top 30 power ratings (Norwalk is #1), this is a tough substate. I've been touting Norwalk all year as the best team in 3A, and they just may be. They play the eighth toughest schedule (Wahlert plays the toughest), and have several quality wins this year, something that the voting polls' #1 (Clear Lake) doesn't have. Gilbert is another tough team in this substate. Favorite: Norwalk.
Substate 8- Atlantic, Carroll, Creston, Denison-Schleswig, Glenwood, Perry, Winterset, Harlan. Five teams in B.C. Moore's top thirty 3A teams. This is another minefield substate, one of the toughest of the eight. Denison-Schleswig, Carroll and Glenwood each could win this substate. It is really hard to pick the winner of this substate, with so many good teams. I was so impressed last year with the way that Glenwood was coached, and how well the players played, that I am going to go with the defending 3A state champs. Favorite: Glenwood.
This is going to be such a competitive substate tourney that I would not be surprised if half my "Favorites" didn't make it to state. What do you think?
Last edited:
