Trips to the boys state basketball tournament are on the line tonight in substate final games for Class 1A and 2A. Here are the area matchups.

CLASS 1A

Substate 7 @ Dowling Catholic: Grand View Christian (23-0) vs. St. Albert (12-11) 7:00 p.m.
Substate 8 @ CB Thomas Jefferson: AHSTW (23-1) vs. West Harrison (21-3) 7:00 p.m. – ON KJAN

CLASS 2A

Substate 8 @ AC/GC: Van Meter (20-2) vs. Red Oak (17-7) 7:00 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Substate 8
Johnston 60, Norwalk 49
Dowling Catholic 42, CB Abraham Lincoln 39

Northern Iowa hosts Loyola this (Saturday) afternoon and the winner claims the Missouri Valley regular season title and the top seed at next week’s conference tournament in St. Louis. The Panthers have reached this point by winning eight of their last night games. Panther coach Ben Jacobson.

UNI’s only loss in the past month was an 85-58 setback to the Ramblers in Chicago. Jacobson hopes a full McLeod Center will give the Panthers a home court advantage.

The Iowa men’s basketball team picked up an 88-78 win at Nebraska on Friday night.

The Hawkeyes had six players in double-figures. Tony Perkins finished with 20pts. Keegan Murray had 15 pts, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Iowa improved to 20-8 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten.

Next up for Iowa is a home game against Northwestern on Monday at 7:00 p.m.

The AHSTW Vikings get a shot at earning a trip to the boys state basketball tournament on Saturday. They will square off against the West Harrison Hawkeyes in the 1A Substate 8 Final at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night at Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson High School. AHSTW Head Coach GG Harris has overseen a gradual rise in the success of the program. From under .500 in 2015-16 to 20+ win seasons the past two years. He credits a lot of their recent success to the work put in during practice.

The Vikings have three guys that get a lot of attention due to their scoring prowess. Rayddenn Grobe averages 18ppg, Kyle Sternberg 16ppg, and Brayden Lund 18.3ppg. A number of other guys play key roles outside the scoring column and we asked Coach Harris is that’s what makes them a great team.

West Harrison comes in with a record of 21-3 and they also have a strong scoring trio. Mason King averages 15.6ppg, Koleson Evans 14.4, and Sage Evans 13.6. Coach Harris sees some similarities between the two teams and knows they will need to be at their best.

We’ll have coverage of that substate final on KJAN. Chris Parks will have the call from Council Bluffs with pregame at 6:45 p.m. and tipoff at 7:00 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Substate 8
Norwalk (12-10) @ Johnston (17-3) 7:00 p.m.
Dowling Catholic (8-14) @ CB Abraham Lincoln (15-5) 7:00 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Region 8
Denison-Schleswig 73, Harlan 68
Carroll 51, Bishop Heelan 46

Region 7
Winterset 59, North Polk 52
Pella 68, Bondurant-Farrar 54

The 21st ranked Iowa Hawkeye women will get a shot to earn a share of the Big Ten title after another road win. Caitlin Clark scored 16 of her game high 32 points in the fourth quarter in an 87-78 win Thursday night, at Rutgers.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. The Hawkeyes close out the regular season on Sunday at home against Big Ten leader Michigan and with a win will grab a share of the league title.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is taking nothing for granted as the 25th ranked Hawkeyes get ready for Friday night’s game at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes rolled in the first meeting 98-75 in Iowa City and the Huskers are just 1-15 in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes have not won in Lincoln since 2015.

McCaffery credits a business like approach for their recent success away from home. The Hawkeyes have won their last two conference road games.

The Hawkeyes have won five of their last six games and McCaffery says better rebounding is a factor.

Iowa is 9-7 in the Big Ten and 19-8 overall.

The Board of Regents has approved construction of a new wrestling training facility at the University of Iowa. The school announced this week it has raised 25 million dollars for the estimated cost of 26 and a half million dollars. U-I senior vice president for finance and operations, Rod Lehnertz, explained the project to the Board of Regents.

Construction is expected to begin in June next to Carver-Hawkeye Arena and will also host the new women’s wrestling program that begins competing in 2023.