Class 3A, 4A Iowa high school boys' basketball substate groups released

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Xavier's road to a fourth consecutive boys' state basketball tournament appearance heads mostly west.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association revealed postseason groupings Friday for Class 3A and 4A, and Xavier is in an eight-team 3A substate with six Wamac Conference schools and Grinnell. The Saints (10-4) are heavy favorites in Substate 3, which also includes Benton Community, Clear Creek-Amana, Center Point-Urbana, Independence, South Tama and Vinton-Shellsburg.

Xavier is two-time defending 3A champion, placing third in the 2015 tournament.

Substate 4 appears more wide open, with the presence of teams like West Delaware (11-5), Davenport Assumption and Dubuque Wahlert. Assumption and Wahlert, of course, also play in 4A conferences.

Joining those three are Marion, DeWitt Central, Anamosa, Maquoketa and Mount Vernon. Iowa City Liberty's first postseason go-round will be in Substate 5, which has a prohibitive favorite in Mount Pleasant.

In Class 4A, defending champion and top-ranked Iowa City West (12-1) is in a six-team substate with Iowa City High, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Cedar Rapids Prairie and Ottumwa.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Linn-Mar will head south to a substate that also includes Muscatine, Pleasant Valley, Davenport North and Burlington. Pleasant Valley has the best record of the group at 12-1.

Coaches seeding meetings in 3A and 4A are Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Class 4A

Substate 1 – No. 3 Sioux City East, Council Bluffs Lincoln, Council Bluffs Jefferson, Lewis Central, Sioux City North, Sioux City West

Substate 2 – No. 4 Cedar Falls, Dubuque Hempstead, Western Dubuque, Mason City, Waterloo East, Waterloo West, Western Dubuque

Substate 3 – No. 7 North Scott, Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport Central, Davenport West, Dubuque Senior

Substate 4 – No. 8 Pleasant Valley, Burlington, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Davenport North, Linn-Mar, Muscatine

Substate 5 – No. 1 Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Washington, Iowa City High, Ottumwa

Substate 6 – No. 6 Waukee, No. 9 West Des Moines Dowling, Des Moines Roosevelt, Indianola, Newton, Southeast Polk

Substate 7 – No. 2 Des Moines Hoover, Ankeny Centennial, Des Moines Lincoln, Marshalltown, Urbandale, West Des Moines Valley

Substate 8 – No. 5 Des Moines North, No. 10 Johnston, Ames, Ankeny, Des Moines East, Fort Dodge

Class 3A

Substate 1 – No. 8 Sioux City Heelan, No. 10 LeMars, Algona, MOC-Floyd Valley, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Spencer, Spirit Lake, Storm Lake

Substate 2 – No. 7 Charles City, Clear Lake, Crestwood, Decorah, Humboldt, Iowa Falls-Alden, Waverly-Shell Rock, Webster City

Substate 3 – No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier, Benton Community, Center Point-Urbana, Clear Creek-Amana, Grinnell, Independence, Vinton-Shellsburg

Substate 4 – No. 9 West Delaware, Anamosa, Davenport Assumption, DeWitt Central, Dubuque Wahlert, Maquoketa, Marion, Mount Vernon

Substate 5 – No. 5 Mount Pleasant, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Iowa City Liberty, Keokuk, Solon, Washington, West Liberty

Substate 6 – No. 2 Oskaloosa, Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Centerville, Chariton, Knoxville, Pella, Saydel

Substate 7 – No. 4 Norwalk, Ballard, Boone, Dallas Center-Grimes, Gilbert, Nevada, North Polk, Winterset

Substate 8 – No. 3 Glenwood, No. 6 Harlan, Adel ADM, Atlantic, Carroll, Creston, Denison-Schleswig, Perry