Interesting Matchups Of The Week (Nov. 27th – Dec. 3rd)
As the high school season starts to get under way this week for everyone throughout the state, there is a lot to keep an eye on. Depending on what Class you are paying attention to and what rosters you are…
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Continue ReadingAs the high school season starts to get under way this week for everyone throughout the state, there is a lot to keep an eye on. Depending on what Class you are paying attention to and what rosters you are looking at, there seems to be a good amount of change. A lot of teams across the state will need to find some new producers, try new offensive and defensive schemes, and think outside of the box if they want to put together a winter to remember.
It’s always important to get a confident and fast start to your season. At the high school and some collegial levels, the first few games of the year are always “feel out” games. These contests are put in place to help everyone understand what it’s like to play at which-ever level and where they individually stand compared to the rest of their roster. In the article below I am going to highlight a handful of the most interesting games of the week throughout the state.
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#12 CR-Prairie (0-0) vs #1 Johnston (0-0)
Where: Prairie High School
When: November 27th – 6:30 PM
Tonight kicks off a week full of action throughout the state of Iowa on the hardwood for both boys and girls high school basketball. The most interesting matchup that is taking place tonight on the girls side is happening at Cedar Rapids Prairie, where the Hawks will step onto their home court against the #1 ranked team in the state in the Johnston Dragons. This is going to be an intense game for each teams to tip off their official seasons. Both teams have multiple players with college level skill sets and those are sure to be on full display tonight. The biggest question for opponents throughout the state this season will be how can they slow down the Dragons. A team that is not only ranked #1 in the state of Iowa for the 5A Class but ranked within the Top 30 teams throughout the country, according to Maxpreps. With all that being said, I don’t think that tonight is an easy contest for either side. The Dragons have to travel a decent distance for their first game of the year and they are going to have a handful of moving pieces to still figure out. If they can get it together early, it could be a tough game for the Hawks but if not, anything could happen. No matter what, this is a great first game for both programs to jump right into this 2023-2024 season.
#5 Nodaway Valley (0-0) vs #8 Treynor (0-0)
Where: Nodaway Valley High School
When: November 28th – 7:30 PM
One of the best matchups of the week, between two highly ranked teams in the 2A Class in Iowa is between #5 Nodaway Valley VS #8 Treynor. These two programs are both going to be in the conversation to make it to the state tournament at the end of this season and that’s why this game is so important to start their year. I never want to put too much pressure on a game but this being the first contest of the year for both programs, you never know what will happen. Nodaway Valley returns every player from a season ago and is prepared to make a big push this year for a memorable playoff run. As for Treynor, they might not have the same personal but they are just as competitive. No matter who is on the floor, they are the type of program that can make it a close game down the stretch. I can’t tell the future so I’m not sure how this one is going to end but I’m going to go out on a limb and say, if Nodaway Valley comes correct, they should end up winning in the end by 7-10 points after free throws but we will have to wait and see.
#3 Dowling Catholic (1-1) vs #7 Valley (2-0)
Where: Dowling Catholic High School
When: November 28th – 6:15 PM
Dowling Catholic has the hardest start of the season this winter compared to every other team in 5A and it’s not close. The Maroons started the year by traveling to another state to play some of the top teams out of Minnesota. In these contests they ended up going 1-1, winning a game by 3 and losing a game by 3. Some pretty close games, that could have gone either way if you ask me. After this, the Maroons head back home this week and will now host two Top 10 ranked teams. The first being the Valley Tigers on Tuesday evening. The Tigers are a team with some of the best talent in the state across the board. They have started off their own season with a 2-0 record and have really dominated their competition in most facets of the game up until this point. In this specific matchup, Dowling Catholic will have the better roster on paper but they will be undersized at most positions so their execution will be a major factor in the end. If the Maroons can go out and execute whatever game plan they have, they should take care of business early on but if not, this one could be a barn-burner.
#9 Sioux City East (0-0) vs #7 Bishop Heelan (0-0)
Where: Sioux City East High School
When: December 1st – 5:30 PM
Sioux City East vs Bishop Heelan is a game that I’m sure both programs have circled on their schedules going into every season. Two programs that are from the same area, both possessing high end collegiate talent, is sure to be the game of the week for some. To begin this winter, Sioux City East will come in ranked at #9, while BH starts off at #7 and for good reason. Like I mentioned above, both programs possess a few future college level players and that should make this one really fun to watch. There are endless possibilities that could happen as an outcome here and that’s not accounting for this game being one of the first, if not thee first game of the year for each team. If you are in the area on Friday, make sure to check this one out. It’ll be worth it.
#3 Dowling Catholic (1-1) vs #5 Ankeny Centennial (2-0)
Where: Dowling Catholic High School
When: December 1st – 6:15 PM
We have already talked about Dowling Catholic and what they bring to the table in this article but we have not had a chance to talk about Ankeny Centennial. AC is undefeated to start their season at 2-0 with a very impressive win on Saturday night against the reigning 5A Champs in the Pleasant Valley Spartans. In this contest, the Jaguars were down the entire time until the 4th quarter. At some moments it was back and fourth during the 2nd and 3rd but generally, the Spartans had the lead most of the game until the 4th but that’s when the Jaguars started to throttle up and make most of their shots attempts, while also getting big stops on the defensive side of the floor. Looking towards Friday, these two teams matchup well against each other and I’m excited to see how this plays out. For myself, this is the game of this week throughout the state. If everyone does their job, it should be in the conversation for game of the year up until this point in the 2023-2024 season, that’s a given.