Mar. 8, Championship Friday Scores and Comments

[EastIowaHawk]

Intriguing matchups today. Post your scores, comments and grumbles here if you'd like.

Consolation 3A- Clear Lake- Winterset
4A Consolation Waukee- North Scott
1A Championship- GVC- Alburnett
2A Championship- North Linn - Boyden Hull
3A Championship- Norwalk- Oskaloosa
4A Championship- Cedar Falls- Dubuque Senior

 

[mylameusername]

The 2a, 3a, 4a match ups are most interesting to me.

1A Seems like Alburnett has very little chance there

2A A great match up, both terrific defensively. Whoever wins, I'd think this will be a very close game. I'm not sure which team to pull for, even with the stat padding, probably rooting for North Linn. Nothing against BH, It would be nice for NL and fans to have some redemption from last year.

3A Conference foes who know each other. The 3rd meeting - split the regular season match ups. I really like Born and Norwalk, but pulling for Osky. Would be nice to see Foster and co get a championship.

4A Another great defensive match up, conference foes as well. I picked CF when the brackets came out, and sticking with them. Really enjoy watching SR too, great fan support and a solid team as well. Thinking this will be a very close game too and down to the wire.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Winterset has doubled up on Clear Lake at the close of the 3Q, and was leading 47-23.
Now 52- 27 Winterset.

Waukee by 9 over North Scott in the 4A consolation.

Now onto the champioships games and those of us who paid $9.95 to watch the early games are UNABLE to get the games that really count. Shame on IHSAA/IHSSN.

 

[go-hawks37]

Let’s go alburnette. GVC and Coach Stubbs are an embankment to Iowa Athletics.

 

[rk#5]

This might be one of the worst championships ever played

 

[sarcastico]

GVC wins 43-22. Alburnett's chances were always slim, but they killed themselves by refusing to run an offense that first half. I get slowing the game down but at some point you still need to score. No one is winning a game scoring 6 first half points. They barely escaped setting the state tournament record for lowest point total of 22. Luckily, that should be the worst game of the day. Let's bring on some real basketball!

 

[sarcastico]

NL 21 B-H 20 at half. B-H has to be feeling great only down 1 with their two leading scorers sitting the 2nd quarter with foul trouble.

 

[mylameusername]

No attendance problems here tonight.
They've had to open up the 200 level seating prior to the Osky Norwalk game. It is packed in here. Osky and Norwalk fans everywhere

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Trying to get the championship games tonight on my computer, but no luck. Any ideas?
Never mind. Somehow, miraculously, I got it on NBC Sports Chicago. Just saw Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame..

Norwalk over Osky by 1 at the half. Born has a ton of points for Norwalk.

 

[mylameusername]

300 upper level seating now opened up

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Oskaloosa wins by 4. Just too much bigness for Norwalk. Born is the captain of all-tourney team. He is a real player. Just missed a couple shots at the end. I was hoping Osky would win because they are an awesome team with Henry and Foster. Des Moines-area Norwalk will have other great teams in the future.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Senior vs. Cedar Falls coming up. This should be another grueling game, with CF favored because of the size, experience and athleticism. Can Noah Carter will his way to a championship. He'll be double teamed all night, and will get fewer touches. The Carter family has four state championships in the family from older brother Josh at Wahlert (basketball) and younger sister at Wahlert (volleyball). The last two were all-tournament four times. You know Noah wants one too.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Senior leads 17- 10 at end of 1st Q.

Tight game all the way. Cedar Falls just played better and made better decisions. Senior tried too hard to have Carter make something happen and too many bad shots were taken by the Rams. Congrats to Cedar Falls.

 

[CF_93]

Senior certainly had a hot shooting first quarter, but cooled off in the 2nd. CF's size began to assert itself on the glass, and allowed them to go on a run of their own, to close out the half, CF up 24-23.

 

[CF_93]

End of 3, CF up 34-28.

 

[sarcastico]

Cedar Falls may be one of the best defensive teams I have ever seen. No point comes easy against them.

 

[CF_93]

WOW! What a finish! CF defends their title with a 44-41 win! Congrats to both teams on a fantastic season! Carter was a beast for CF to contain.

 

[sarcastico]

Great game and a great finish to one of the better tournaments I have seen in recent years. Lot of great players and a lot of great games this year.

 

[Pinehawk]

Down year for the tournament. Offenses struggled to score overall and not that many close games.

 

[sarcastico]

Honest question Pinehawk, did you even watch all the games or just look at the scores? There were lots of close games and some great basketball to be seen this week.

In 1A we had Grand View Christian which, even though there may be issues with how the team was built, was one of the most entertaining 1A teams ever. Even as they blew teams out they were fun to watch. Then we have Alburnett hitting game winners in the closing seconds twice, including an actual buzzer beater.

In 2A both semi final games where close throughout and thouroughly entertaining. Then we saw an absolute clinic from North Linn on pressure defense and transition offense in the championship game. Something any basketball fan would appreciate.

3A was great all week. Oskaloosa was challenged all three games and were able to pull out three close wins. Foster and Henry is not a combination of size and skill you see often and were a joy to watch. Then there was the scoring machine that is Bowen Born. If you were not entertained watching him there is nothing that would entertain you. Him taking on Clear Lake and coming out on top was a joy to behold. Capping it off was a terrific championship game that more than lived up to the hype.

In 4A we had that dramatic Senior win over West on a steal and layup in the closing seconds. Two really good semi final games, including an overtime thriller. Then a championship game with two gritty teams battling to the very end. If you enjoy all aspects of basketball watching Cedar Falls play defense was just as enjoyable as watching a team go out and light up a scoreboard.

If you were not entertained by what happened in Des Moines this week you either don't understand basketball, don't enjoy basketball, or are just a straight up hater.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Honest question Pinehawk, did you even watch all the games or just look at the scores? There were lots of close games and some great basketball to be seen this week.

In 1A we had Grand View Christian which, even though there may be issues with how the team was built, was one of the most entertaining 1A teams ever. Even as they blew teams out they were fun to watch. Then we have Alburnett hitting game winners in the closing seconds twice, including an actual buzzer beater.

In 2A both semi final games where close throughout and thouroughly entertaining. Then we saw an absolute clinic from North Linn on pressure defense and transition offense in the championship game. Something any basketball fan would appreciate.

3A was great all week. Oskaloosa was challenged all three games and were able to pull out three close wins. Foster and Henry is not a combination of size and skill you see often and were a joy to watch. Then there was the scoring machine that is Bowen Born. If you were not entertained watching him there is nothing that would entertain you. Him taking on Clear Lake and coming out on top was a joy to behold. Capping it off was a terrific championship game that more than lived up to the hype.

In 4A we had that dramatic Senior win over West on a steal and layup in the closing seconds. Two really good semi final games, including an overtime thriller. Then a championship game with two gritty teams battling to the very end. If you enjoy all aspects of basketball watching Cedar Falls play defense was just as enjoyable as watching a team go out and light up a scoreboard.

If you were not entertained by what happened in Des Moines this week you either don't understand basketball, don't enjoy basketball, or are just a straight up hater.

5-6 dramatic plays in ALL of these games doesn’t make for great basketball

 

[mylameusername]

I'm guessing pine and cid weren't able to watch in person, which makes a huge difference. Need to side with sarcastico on this. It was not a down tournament.

My son and I caught three of the champ games live and except for parts of the 1A, all were highly entertaining.

That Osky/Norwalk game was outstanding live. The crowd was unbelievable, and the game emotions very tense even if you were a neutral observer. Back and forth the entire game, one of the best guards in state literally willing his team, while Osky just too powerful down low. You had folks having to sit in the upper decks to catch it.

Streaming or tv simply won't do the live atmosphere justice.

And even as much as I dislike North Linn, it was really cool as a dad to see NL's coach be able to celebrate on the sideline with his sons. To see them pull it out after 3 years of attempts was pretty cool.

 

[wolverine55]

Honest question Pinehawk, did you even watch all the games or just look at the scores? There were lots of close games and some great basketball to be seen this week.

In 1A we had Grand View Christian which, even though there may be issues with how the team was built, was one of the most entertaining 1A teams ever. Even as they blew teams out they were fun to watch. Then we have Alburnett hitting game winners in the closing seconds twice, including an actual buzzer beater.

In 2A both semi final games where close throughout and thouroughly entertaining. Then we saw an absolute clinic from North Linn on pressure defense and transition offense in the championship game. Something any basketball fan would appreciate.

3A was great all week. Oskaloosa was challenged all three games and were able to pull out three close wins. Foster and Henry is not a combination of size and skill you see often and were a joy to watch. Then there was the scoring machine that is Bowen Born. If you were not entertained watching him there is nothing that would entertain you. Him taking on Clear Lake and coming out on top was a joy to behold. Capping it off was a terrific championship game that more than lived up to the hype.

In 4A we had that dramatic Senior win over West on a steal and layup in the closing seconds. Two really good semi final games, including an overtime thriller. Then a championship game with two gritty teams battling to the very end. If you enjoy all aspects of basketball watching Cedar Falls play defense was just as enjoyable as watching a team go out and light up a scoreboard.

If you were not entertained by what happened in Des Moines this week you either don't understand basketball, don't enjoy basketball, or are just a straight up hater.

Did not get to see the 4A game, but agree with the rest of this totally.

 

[wolverine55]

Oskaloosa wins by 4. Just too much bigness for Norwalk. Born is the captain of all-tourney team. He is a real player. Just missed a couple shots at the end. I was hoping Osky would win because they are an awesome team with Henry and Foster. Des Moines-area Norwalk will have other great teams in the future.

Especially if Norwalk gets their new athletic complex built on the current schedule they want!!

 

[sarcastico]

5-6 dramatic plays in ALL of these games doesn’t make for great basketball

There were significantly more "dramatic plays" this week than 5 or 6. I highlighted a few for brevity's sake. With the amount of close games we had this week one could argue every play in the 4th quarter was dramatic. Everytime a team made a run to close the gap on a lead was dramatic. Every late free throw to seal a win was dramatic. There were hundreds of dramatic plays this week.

Also, what odd criteria for quantifying good basketball. Sometimes a team controls a game from tip to finish. That doesn't mean it was bad basketball. In fact it typically means just the opposite. I think of Cedar Falls vs SC East for example. Cedar Falls dominated that game and watching it was most certainly watching great basketball be played.

 

[Pinehawk]

I attended in person, watched some games on tv, listened to some on the radio and followed the live stats of some games. I probably followed more closely than most and I stand by this being a down year.

Couple that with the television mess and it was disappointing. I’m sure a few enjoyed parts of the week though.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

I thought it was the best tournament in years and there were a ton of nail-biter finishes. I am basing this on seeing most of the tourney games over the past many years. The defenses were much better, and it made some games more tense and grueling. I think when you make the tourney, coaches do what they have to do to win, and that's play good defense and take only good shots. Quickly running up and down the court may win in the regular season, but not in Des Moines.

My biggest regret is that I never did get to see North Linn, Boyden, or GVC- Alburnett play due to problems with the IHSSN site, or my work schedule.

Some observations--
Did almost half the crowd leave after the Osky- Norwalk game; lots of empty seats after a packed house earlier? The "end-zones" emptied out.
Born seemed to be the crowd favorite in the games I saw.
Much more support for small-town Iowa basketball than for the large city teams, as far as IowaPrep comments/posts.
If Senior didn't push every other possession into Carter (triple-teamed), they might have beat Cedar Falls. Wasted some of their outside shooting prowess.
Osky (I've seen them four times in past two years) got stronger game by game. Big men very impressive.
Patrick McCaffery seemed too content shooting from outside for IC West.
Have you seen a more confident coach than Cedar Falls has?
Most people I've talked to had extreme difficulty watching the games on TV and computer.
Best tourney in years, despite a lot of folks not being able to watch it.
Maybe next year, move the championship games a wee bit earlier, so folks don't have to drive home so late.

 

[mylameusername]

Some observations--
Did almost half the crowd leave after the Osky- Norwalk game; lots of empty seats after a packed house earlier? The "end-zones" emptied out.
Born seemed to be the crowd favorite in the games I saw.
Much more support for small-town Iowa basketball than for the large city teams, as far as IowaPrep comments/posts.

Yes, the majority of the crowd was there for the Osky/Norwalk game and was a massive clear out after. Norwalk fans were not in the mood to stick around, and I could understand given the disappointment. There were a few youngsters around us pretty distraught.

Norwalk likely had more fans, but the 100-200 sections were pretty much one side all Norwalk and the other Osky. There were plenty of Senior and CF fans that came early too, but they were struggling to find seats and a lot ended up in the 200 or upper 300 level sections. We were behind the basket to the right of Norwalk's bench, and it was all Norwalk with some SR mixed in. Osky was the next section over, all the way to the other basket.

Pretty good support for both the 1A and 2A games. 3A had by far the largest crowd, which makes sense given the proximity of Norwalk and to a lesser extent Osky.

 

[mylameusername]

One other comment on Osky/Norwalk besides the number of fans, was the back and forth between the student sections and fans. Pretty entertaining.

 

[go-hawks37]

Great crowds all day.

 

[cidhawkeye]

I didn’t say it was down, poor crowd atmosphere or non dramatic, just didn’t think it was well played. Poor shooting.

 

[mylameusername]

In 1A we had Grand View Christian which, even though there may be issues with how the team was built, was one of the most entertaining 1A teams ever. Even as they blew teams out they were fun to watch. Then we have Alburnett hitting game winners in the closing seconds twice, including an actual buzzer beater.

Circling back on the 1A comment after some thought. While 1A did have some close games and a couple of upsets, except for Grand View, there didn't seem to be the quality of teams like prior years. Not taking anything away from their seasons, but Remsen, Montezuma and Alburnett all seemed to be similar talent-wise / same kind of level.

There also wasn't the prime match up like Grand View-North Linn of last year. I think most were expecting Grand View to win it regardless of the match-up(s), and a lot of the drama normally seen wasn't as pronounced. To their credit, once Grand View gained a lead or momentum, they would roll with it.