Substate 1:

Carroll – 77 vs Saydel – 51

Sioux Center – 58 vs MOC Floyd-Valley – 46

Substate 2:

North Polk – 54 vs Clear Lake – 52

Gilbert – 63 vs Knoxville – 40

Substate 3:

Wahlert Catholic – 86 vs Decorah – 55

Xavier – 64 vs Waverly Shell-Rock – 52

Substate 4:

Solon – 71 vs Assumption – 51

Central Dewitt – 54 vs Marion – 52

Substate 5:

Pella – 76 vs Washington – 38

Keokuk – 64 vs Center Point-Urbana – 58

Substate 6:

ADM – 76 vs Benton – 35

Nevada – 70 vs Bondurant-Farrar – 53

Substate 7: 

Ballard – 78 vs Des Moines Christian – 52

Oskaloosa – 53 vs Winterset – 38

Substate 8:

Storm Lake – 82 vs Algona – 36

Sergeant Bluff-Luton – 54 vs Bishop Heelan – 47

Slow starts have been too common for the Iowa basketball team and coach Ben McCollum says the Hawkeyes can’t afford another one tomorrow when they visit Penn State. Under third year coach Mike Rhoades the Nittany Lions are just 2-15 in the Big Ten but there have been several near misses against some of the top teams, especially at home.

Penn State averages fewer than six thousand fans per home game so the crowd may not provide a lot of energy.

After struggling for a few weeks McCollum feels the Hawkeyes have gotten back to playing good defense.

The Hawkeyes are 10-7 in the Big Ten and 20-8 overall.

The Drake women saw a 15-point second half lead evaporate but held on for an 87-85 win Thursday, at Evansville. Anna Becker’s layup with 11 seconds remaining was the game winner.

That’s Drake coach Allison Pohlman. Drake improved to 8-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference despite giving up 27 fourth quarter points.

The Northern Iowa women scored 59 second half points, Thursday night, and raced away to a 92-54 win over Valparaiso in Cedar Falls.

That’s Panther coach Tanya Warren. UNI led 22-10 at the end of one but managed only 11 points in the second quarter.

UNI moves to 10-7 in the Missouri Valley.

Ava Heiden had 28 points and Hannah Stuelke added 18 points as the ninth ranked Iowa Hawkeye women held off Illinois 82-78, Thursday night, in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes rallied from a six point fourth quarter deficit to move to 14-3 in the Big Ten.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. After dominating sixth ranked Michigan on Sunday the Hawkeyes were pushed to the limit by the Illini.

Iowa closes the regular season on Sunday at Wisconsin.

The Riverside Bulldogs have gone on an incredible postseason run that has landed them a matchup with St. Edmond with the state tournament on the line. The Bulldogs’ playoff run includes a win over Stanton and two upset victories over 19-3 Southwest Valley and 19-4 Bedford. Junior Peyton Amdor has been an absolute star so far, collecting a triple double against Stanton, 28 points and 20 rebounds against Southwest Valley and poured in another 22 points in the District Championship against Bedford. His play has been phenomenal, and Head Coach Nicholas Kroon says it can be credited to the work done behind the scenes.

Riverside’s difficult regular season scheduled has prepared them for playing great teams in the playoffs:

St. Edmond is another excellent team that stands in the Bulldogs’ way, but Coach Kroon believes his team is ready:

Games this time of year can feel like a lot of pressure, but Coach Kroon has taken on a different mindset:

The Riverside Bulldogs will take on St. Edmond in the Substate Final at the Drake University Knapp Center on Saturday, February 28th. Tipoff scheduled for 7:00pm.

The fourth ranked Iowa State men are in the Big 12 title hunt as they get ready to host 16th ranked Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Cyclones and Red Raiders are part of as four-way logjam in second at 11-4. ISU will visit second ranked Arizona Monday night. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 race with a record of 13-2.

That’s Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger. The top of the Big 12 is full of teams that are legitimate Final Four contenders.

Texas Tech has won two straight despite being without star forward JT Toppin, who suffered a season ending ACL injury. Toppin was averaging nearly 22 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Otzelberger says Tech remains an outstanding perimeter shooting team.

Senior guard Nate Heise says the red Raiders remain dangerous even without Toppin.

Heise believes the Cyclones are poised for the stretch run.

Senior forward Joshua Jefferson says there veteran nature has allowed them to handle the press of a title chase.

The Cyclones are 24-4 overall.

The Exira-EHK-Audubon girls basketball team punched their ticket to the state tournament Wednesday night with a 57-38 win over the GTRA Titans. Physicality and defense were the story of the night. In a raucous atmosphere both teams locked down the other early. The first quarter saw just 15 points scored between the two. However, halfway through the second, Exira-EHK-Audubon broke through. Outscoring GTRA 11-2 in the back half of the second quarter, it was the run they needed to take control of the game. Exira-EHK-Audubon kept GTRA at arm’s length for much of the rest of the game. Although the Titans made a bid to get back in the game late, the combination of foul trouble and Exira-EHK-Audubon’s depth and physicality had taken its toll. For Exira-EHK-Audubon, they’ll make their first appearance at the state tournament since 2022 and it’s the seventh time a team associated with Exira-EHK has made the state tournament since 2015.

Although somewhat expected for a region final, it can’t go without being said that the atmosphere in Carroll was electric. The stands were packed by the time starting lineups were announced, and the students showed up in force and were loud. However, the offensives did not. Both teams combined for just 15 points in the opening quarter. However, this was in large part due to the physicality and tenacity of the defense. A trait that would last throughout the rest of the night. They both forced turnovers, made it difficult for each other to find success on the inside and rebounded well. Despite having a size disadvantage, GTRA rebounded quite well, but it did not translate to anything offensively.

Exira-EHK-Audubon was clinging to a 1-point lead heading into the second but the first half of the quarter looked a like the first, except Exira-EHK-Audubon completely shut down the Titans in the period. While in the first, Exira-EHK Audubon’s defense was strong, it was smothering in the second. They allowed just four points the entire quarter, which opened the door for to Exira-EHK-Audubon offense to break through. From the halfway point of the second quarter the game belonged to Exira-EHK-Audubon. They outscored GTRA 11-2 over that time frame and it was in large part due to their secondary scoring. Harlow Miller, who played a big factor in the game on the inside picked up four points in the second. Meanwhile Zoey Rasmussen came off the bench and hit two big threes.  This run at the end of the second quarter turned out to be one of the defining moments of the game. Establishing that cushion, allowed them to survive any push that the Titans would muster later in the game.

Although Exira-EHK-Audubon wasn’t as dominant in the second half as they were in the second half, they didn’t need to be. Considering you’d expect nothing less than a strong push from a very good GTRA team with their season on the line, Exira-EHK-Audubon did everything they needed to do. They continued to defend well, and most importantly, found ways to respond every time the Titans started to pick up a little bit of steam. Taryn Petersen added 14 points in the second half, many of which came from the foul-line. This exemplified Exira-EHK-Audubon’s physicality, which led to problems for GTRA. Already with a short bench, foul trouble became an issue for the Titans. Late in the game four Titans had four fouls, putting them at risk to lose one of their key players. However, in the final two minutes, something clicked. GTRA finally found the three ball and with 1:19 had clawed their back to within nine. However, a foul on a rebound would all but end GTRA’s slim chances at comeback when the bench picked up a technical on the same. In addition to allowing Exira-EHK-Audubon a chance to reextend their lead to double-digits but also gave them ball. After this point, all that was left was to watch the clock tick down.

Yet again, Exira-EHK-Audubon proved why they belong at the state tournament. Their speed and talent, particularly on defense serves them well, while their offense does everything they need it to do. Winners of 22 straight, they won’t make life easy for any opponent they see in Des Moines.

Physicality was a massive part of the game right from the start.

That was Taryn Petersen who led Exira-EHK-Audubon in scoring with 21 points. However, it was the defense that was the biggest factor according to Harlow Miller.

Making the state tournament is nothing new for this program. However, it will be new for everyone on the team. However, Taryn Petersen thinks the chemistry that this group has separates them from others.

The state tournament will be nothing new for head coach Tom Petersen, and he is looking to cherish the moment.

Exira-EHK-Audubon will enter the tournament as the sixth seed. They will open Wednesday night at 6:45 pm against the third seeded St. Albert Saintes who are 21-3 and defeated Coon Rapids-Bayard in the region 3 final 68-48. You can catch all the action on KJAN.

Region 7 –

West Lyon – 46 vs Riverside – 21

Region 1 –

Rock Valley – 38 vs Sioux Central – 35

Region 2 –

Central Lyon – 41 vs Westwood – 26

Region 3 –

Hinton – 46 vs Earlham – 38

Region 4 –

Denver – 50 vs Cascade – 28

Region 5 –

Emmetsburg – 64 vs Maquoketa Valley – 43

Region 6 –

Treynor – 60 vs Pleasantville – 41

Region 8 –

Regina Catholic – 47 vs Grundy Center – 36

Region 7 –

Exira-EHK – 57 vs GTRA – 38

Region 1 – 

Newell-Fonda – 71 vs George-Little Rock – 37

Region 2 – 

Bishop Garrigan – 55 vs Lake Mills – 33

Region 3 – 

St. Albert – 68 vs Coon Rapids-Bayard – 48

Region 4 –

Kee High – 55 vs Springville – 43

Region 5 –

Lynnville-Sully – 56 vs North Union – 33

Region 6 –

Dunkerton – 67 vs Edgewood-Colesburg – 44

Region 8 – 

Saint Ansgar – 52vs Gladbrook-Reinbeck – 49