Iowa high school boys’ state basketball 2024: Monday’s games

Here is a look at Monday’s schedule at the Iowa high school boys’ state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

And an in-depth look at the games involving Gazette-area schools.

Class 1A quarterfinals

No. 1 North Linn (23-1) vs. Woodbine (23-2)

Time: 10:30 a.m.

State tournament history: This is the eighth consecutive state tournament appearance for North Linn, and the Lynx have won their quarterfinal game the previous seven years. In fact, North Linn has been in a state championship game the last six years. Contrarily, Woodbine has yet to win a state tournament game. It previously qualified in 1969, 1995 and 1996.

Game synopsis: North Linn is beating its opponent by an average of 41.9 points per game, a byproduct of full-court presure defense that can produce large runs in a short amount of time. The Lynx lost to Alburnett, 52-45, on January 18 but have rebounded since, picking up a victory at third-ranked Bellevue Marquette as part of a current 10-game win streak.

Woodbine’s losses were both to Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (by 16 and 11 points), but the Tigers avenged them with a 56-49 district final win. Woodbine upset second-ranked Madrid in a substate final, 66-63.

Woodbine has a roster comprised of almost all underclassmen. Junior guard Carter Gruver leads the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game, 6-foot-5 freshman forward Landon Blum is next at 12.8 and sophomore center Jax Pryor after him at 10.8 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds.

North Linn’s big offensive duo is junior guard Mason Bechen (20.5 ppg, 5.7 assists per game) and senior forward Ty Pflughaupt (20.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg). The Lynx shoot 50.9 percent from the field as a team and 68.9 from the free-throw line, sixth in Class 1A.

Other games

No. 5 Winfield-Mount Union (20-2) vs. No. 7 Lynnville-Sully (24-1), 12:15 p.m.

No. 3 Bellevue Marquette (25-1) vs. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (21-5), 2 p.m.

No. 4 Lake Mills (24-1) vs. No. 8 North Union (22-3), 3:45 p.m.

Class 2A quarterfinals

No. 1 Western Christian (20-3) Iowa City Regina (17-6)

Time: 5:30 p.m.

State tournament history: Impeccable on both sides. Western Christian is making its 24th state appearance. It has won 10 championships, four in the last 10 years. It was back-to-back 2A champs in 2016 and 2017, won it all in 2021 and was runner-up to Central Lyon last season. This is the 17th state tournament appearance for Iowa City Regina, its first since 2019. The school has three championships, though the last was in 1979. The Regals were a runner-up in 2015.

Game synopsis: Two of Western Christian’s losses have been to schools from South Dakota (Dakota Valley and Sioux Falls Christian, which is top ranked in Class A, the middle of the three classes in the state). Its other was to Sioux City East, which finished ranked third in Class 4A.

The Wolfpack’s leading scorers were starters on last year’s runner-up team. Six-foot-3 junior guard Kaden Van Regenmorter averages 19.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He’s also an 84.9-percent free-throw shooter. Six-foot-3 junior forward Karsten Moret averages 12.8 points. This is an atypical Western team in that its tallest player is 6-5, then it’s multiple players at 6-3. The Wolfpack are usually very lengthy.

Coach Paul Rundquist came to Regina this season after a stint as an associate/assistant head coach at Iowa City West. He has molded the Regals quickly into a formidable force. Regina lost its first two games, rattled off a 13-game win streak, lost four of five at the end of the regular season but rebounded to win three postseason games, including an upset of fifth-ranked Pella Christian in a substate final.

Senior forward Michael Martin leads the Regals in scoring at 17.9 ppg. Freshman forward Tate Wallace is next at 11.9.

Other games

No. 6 West Burlington (22-0) vs. No. 8 Treynor (21-3), 7:15 p.m.

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