IHSAA boys basketball postseason: Class 3A, 4A substate play begins Monday (5 games to watch)

CEDAR RAPIDS - Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

Cedar Rapids Xavier’s boys basketball team went through the regular season with an above-water overall record. It won double-digit games, lost some to really good teams in a higher class, handled all of the teams in its own class.

Now it hits the postseason kind of laying in the weeds.

The Saints begin Class 3A substate play Monday night at home against Maquoketa (8-13). They are a No. 2 seed in their substate, behind only Dubuque Wahlert.

Xavier beat Wahlert at home in the only regular-season game between the parochial rivals, and Wahlert has one of its starters and its second-leading scorer (freshman center Alex Tanny) out of the lineup with an injury.

Xavier also beat Waverly-Shell Rock, Substate 3’s third seed, by 20-plus points in the season opener way back when. It is 4-0 against Class 3A competition this season.

Yes, Decorah also is a capable team in the substate, but Xavier has to like the position it is in right now. Guard Zander Murray and center A.J. Evans started last season for a team that made it to the state tournament, won its quarterfinal and lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals.

Xavier played 4A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie down to the wire before falling last week.

“We were right there,” Coach Mike Freeman said. “Kind of the things that have plagued us all season, those little details, is what got us in the end. But we talked as coaches and told the kids that it was that kind of effort, if we’re consistent with that, we’re going to be OK.”

All Class 3A schools play Monday night, while 16 4A teams received first-round byes and do not. Here is a look at five Monday games involving Gazette-area schools that could be interesting.

Also included is an up-to-date list of all postseason games Monday and Tuesday around the state.

Benton Community (12-9) at Clear Creek-Amana (15-7)

Class 3A Substate 6 quarterfinal

These teams split a pair of games in the regular season, each winning at home. So who wins the proverbial rubber match? Benton Community has clinched its first winning season since 2018-19. Clear Creek-Amana won the Wamac Conference Western Division championship. The winner most likely gets second-ranked and top-seeded Adel-DeSoto-Minburn in a substate semifinal.

Vinton-Shellsburg (11-10) at Waverly-Shell Rock (12-9)

Class 3A Substate 3 semifinal

Waverly-Shell Rock went 3-0 against opponents from the Wamac Conference this season, beating three good teams in Clear Creek-Amana, Center Point-Urbana and Mount Vernon. Can the Go-Hawks make it 4 for 4? Vinton-Shellsburg needs one victory to secure its first winning season since 2016-17. Even a .500 season would be a good accomplishment for a program that went 1-21 two seasons ago. W-SR won four straight to conclude the regular season, V-S won three of four. Winner gets the Xavier-Maquoketa winner.

Western Dubuque (5-16) at Marion (15-7)

Class 2A Substate 4 quarterfinal

These teams just played less than two weeks ago in Epworth, with Marion winning a close 55-49 game. The Wolves won five in a row and six of seven to end the regular season. Western Dubuque played a mostly-4A schedule, of course, as a member of the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Bobcats were 2-3 against 3A competition. This winner will play either DeWitt Central or West Liberty in a 3A substate semifinal.

Iowa City High (7-14) at Marshalltown (14-7)

Class 4A Substate 4 quarterfinal

These teams have exact opposite records, but this honestly appears to be a coin-flip game. City High five of its final six regular-season games, losing only to Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Little Hawks lost four games by five points or less and play in the MVC, which is better in quality than the Iowa Alliance Conference, in which Marshalltown plays. The Bobcats did win five of six down the stretch of the regular season and did beat the only MVC team it played (Cedar Rapids Jefferson).

West Des Moines Valley (1-19) at Iowa City West (13-8)

Class 4A Substate 3 quarterfinal

This one is listed only because Valley is the three-time defending Class 4A state champion. It lost every key player from that run thus the 1-19 record. The only win did come against Cedar Rapids Washington, which West lost to. Will there be a new 4A winner this season? West can assure that with a win.

-------------

Here is the entire upcoming schedule for all four classes. Each game begins at 7 p.m.

Monday

CLASS 3A SUBSTATE QUARTERFINALS

Metro-Area

Benton Community (12-9) at Clear Creek-Amana (15-7)

Bondurant-Farrar (5-16) at Mount Vernon (14-6)

Grinnell (4-17) at Center Point-Urbana (17-5)

Independence (2-19) at Dubuque Wahlert (13-8)

Maquoketa (8-13) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (12-8)

South Tama (3-18) at Solon (20-2)

Vinton-Shellsburg (11-10) at Waverly-Shell Rock (12-9)

Washington (Iowa) (12-10) at Burlington (12-9)

West Delaware (9-12) at Decorah (14-6)

West Liberty (5-16) at DeWitt Central (13-8)

Western Dubuque (5-16) at Marion (15-7)

Williamsburg (4-17) at Oskaloosa (12-9)

State

Algona (15-7) at Humboldt (13-9)

Atlantic (6-15) at Sergeant Bluff-Luton (16-6)

Boone (4-17) at Gilbert (13-8)

Carlisle (8-13) at Winterset (12-10)

Charles City (3-17) at Clear Lake (19-2)

Creston (5-16) at Knoxville (19-3)

Denison-Schleswig (4-18) at Storm Lake (20-2)

Des Moines Hoover (3-18) at Nevada (19-3)

Fairfield (2-18) at Pella (18-4)

Fort Madison (5-16) at Keokuk (17-3)

Hampton-Dumont-CAL (7-14) at North Polk (12-10)

Harlan (7-13) at Sioux City Heelan (11-9)

LeMars (9-13) at Sioux Center (14-8)

Mount Pleasant (10-11) at Davenport Assumption (9-12)

Newton (9-11) at Des Moines Christian (14-7)

Osceola Clarke (5-16) at Adel-DeSoto-Minburn (19-2)

Perry (3-19) at Carroll (17-5)

Saydel (13-8) at Glenwood (14-7)

Spencer (6-15) at MOC/Floyd Valley (17-4)

Webster City (2-18) at Huxley Ballard (20-1)

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE QUARTERFINALS

Metro-Area

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (1-20) at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (14-7)

(Winner plays Muscatine)

Cedar Rapids Washington (6-15) at Pleasant Valley (10-11)

(Winner plays Dubuque Senior)

Iowa City High (7-14) at Marshalltown (14-7)

(Winner plays Cedar Falls)

Iowa City Liberty (7-14) at Indianola (12-9)

(Winner plays Waukee Northwest)

West Des Moines Valley (1-19) at Iowa City West (13-8)

(Winner plays Ankeny)

State

Clinton (6-15) at Davenport Central (9-12)

(Winner plays Cedar Rapids Prairie)

Council Bluffs Jefferson (2-20) at Southeast Polk (8-13)

(Winner plays Council Bluffs Lincoln)

Davenport West (4-16) at North Scott (14-7)

(Winner plays Bettendorf)

Des Moines Lincoln (8-14) at Council Bluffs Lewis Central (13-8)

(Winner plays Waukee)

Des Moines North (6-15) at Sioux City East (10-12)

(Winner plays West Des Moines Dowling)

Dubuque Hempstead (1-20) at Davenport North (11-9)

(Winner plays Linn-Mar)

Fort Dodge (4-17) at Ankeny Centennial (8-13)

(Winner plays Urbandale)

Ottumwa (4-17) at Dallas Center-Grimes (12-8)

(Winner plays Johnston)

Sioux City North (2-20) at Sioux City West (15-6)

(Winner plays Norwalk)

Waterloo East (9-12) at Des Moines East (11-10)

(Winner plays Des Moines Roosevelt)

Waterloo West (8-13) at Mason City (11-10)

(Winner plays Ames)

Tuesday

(All games at 7 p.m.)

CLASS 1A DISTRICT FINALS

Area

Hillcrest Academy (20-4) at Calamus-Wheatland (22-2)

Maquoketa Valley (19-5) at Bellevue (20-3)

Montezuma (20-4) at Lynnville-Sully (23-0)

South Winneshiek (20-3) at Wapsie Valley (17-7)

Springville (15-8) at Bellevue Marquette (21-2)

State

Ankeny Christian (20-4) at Fort Dodge St. Edmond (21-2)

Audubon (15-9) at Coon Rapids-Bayard (22-1)

Baxter (19-5) at East Marshall (17-6)

Fort Madison Holy Trinity (16-7) at Burlington Notre Dame (22-2)

LeMars Gehlen (16-7) at Boyden-Hull (16-7)

Martensdale-St. Mary’s (18-6) at Madrid (19-4)

Nashua-Plainfield (18-6) at Algona Garrigan (21-2)

North Union (14-9) at Belmond-Klemme (17-5)

Oakland Riverside (13-10) at Bedford (19-4)

Sibley-Ocheyedan (15-8) at Marcus MMCRU (23-1)

Woodbine (15-8) at Council Bluffs St. Albert (19-5)

CLASS 2A DISTRICT FINALS

Area

Cascade (15-7) at Monticello (16-6)

Central Lee (15-7) at Iowa City Regina (20-1)

Dyersville Beckman (13-10) at Denver (15-7)

Mid-Prairie (16-6) at Northeast Goose Lake (16-7)

Waterloo Columbus (14-8) at Union Community (20-3)

State

Cherokee (15-6) at Tri-Center (20-2)

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (15-8) at Southeast Valley (20-1)

Crestwood (18-5) at Aplington-Parkersburg (20-3)

Garner-Hayfield-Ventura (9-15) at Roland-Story (17-5)

Grand View Christian (13-9) at Pella Christian (12-10)

OABCIG (17-5) at Underwood (18-4)

Ridge View (19-4) at Treynor (20-3)

Rock Valley (15-8) at Western Christian (16-6)

South Hardin (13-9) at Carroll Kuemper (20-3)

Van Meter (14-8) vs. Grundy Center or Pleasantville

West Lyon (11-12) at Orange City Unity Christian (20-2)

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com