Jeff Johnson

The Gazette sports writers Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson talk about the Iowa high school boys and girls basketball 2025-2026 season so far.

Cedar Falls used a significant size advantage and significant experience advantage to beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 79-43, in a boys basketball game Tuesday night at Kennedy.

How many guys can tell you the stick curves used by other players? That’d be Keltie Jeri-Leon of the Iowa Heartlanders. The 25-year-old from British Columbia is a self-professed “hockey nerd.”

Iowa’s men’s basketball team played No. 4 Iowa State to the wire Thursday night before losing by four. As it did two weeks ago after a loss to nationally ranked Michigan State, the Hawkeyes were able to get an immediate bounce back, stomping Western Michigan, 91-51, Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa men’s basketball team takes a step back in competition after three straight games against Big Ten Conference/in-state foes, hosting Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan.

Tyler Hilton has improved so much since a year ago. The 6-foot-8 Linn-Mar senior boys’ basketball player is averaging 25 points in his team’s first three games this season and had a mammoth 26-point, 23-rebound game Friday night as his Lions beat Cedar Rapids Prairie, 67-59, at Linn-Mar.

After a successful 17-year stint as Center Point-Urbana girls’ basketball coach, Philip Klett has taken over the school’s boys’ basketball program. The Stormin’ Pointers are off to a 3-0 start.

Elliot Desnoyers scored with a minute left in three-on-three overtime Wednesday as the Iowa Heartlanders beat Kansas City, 5-4, at Xtream Arena. It was just the third home win this season for the ECHL club and came on its annual Kids Day, with 2,300 tickets reserved for school children from the Corridor area.

Iowa hopes to learn from blowout loss in last road game at Michigan State. Iowa State hopes not to have a hangover after blowout win at No. 1 Purdue.

Cedar Falls forced back-to-back turnovers in the final 40 seconds to lock down a 69-65 win over Linn-Mar in a wonderful boys’ basketball game Monday night at Linn-Mar.

Cedar Rapids Washington’s boys’ basketball team starts four sophomores and a junior. Four freshmen were starters most of last season. The Warriors say they are older, better and more cohesive overall, proof coming Saturday with a 68-54 win over Iowa City West.

Duane Schulte was the first varsity football coach in the history of Cedar Rapids Xavier High School back in 1998. He has built a program that has won five state championships, including this season’s Class 4A title.

The North Linn boys’ basketball program has qualified for the state basketball tournament nine straight years. It made a state championship game seven consecutive years, a streak ended last season. 69.3 percent of that team’s scoring graduated, meaning this year is a whole new team ... and a new coach, hired in early November.

Iowa seeks its first Big Ten Conference win, tries to rebound from Michigan State blowout.

Michigan State dismantled Iowa’s men’s basketball team Tuesday night in the Big Ten Conference opener for each team, 71-52. It’ll be interesting how the Hawkeyes respond from that shellacking when they host Maryland on Saturday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.