The Metro didn’t have a qualifier for last year’s boys’ state basketball season, and the odds are that will happen again this year.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association released postseason assignments for Class 3A and Class 4A Friday, and Metro schools are not favored to get out of any of their respective substates.
In Class 4A, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Prairie and Linn-Mar were grouped in a six-team substate that includes third-ranked Johnston. Iowa City West also is in that substate.
Top-ranked Cedar Falls is the favorite in a substate that also includes Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Washington and Iowa City High. Washington has the best record of any of the 4A Metro schools at 8-5.
A 4A school from the Metro has not qualified for state since Cedar Rapids Kennedy in 2017. All three Iowa City 4A schools were placed into different substates, as fifth-ranked Iowa City Liberty is in with Bettendorf, Burlington, Davenport Central, Davenport North and 10th-ranked Pleasant Valley.
In Class 3A, Marion and Cedar Rapids Xavier are in a substate with a good team from Mount Vernon and sixth-ranked Davenport Assumption, among others. Other 3A substates see third-ranked Monticello and No. 6 Solon together, No. 8 Western Dubuque the only ranked team in a substate that also includes quality teams from Dubuque Wahlert, Waverly-Shell Rock and Decorah, and Clear Creek Amana (which has won 10 straight games) in a substate with second-ranked Pella.
Pairings for the postseason will be set via coaches’ seeding meetings in a couple of weeks. Substate games in 3A and 4A begin Feb. 22.
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The IHSAA also announced Friday that there will be changes to the state tournament. Consolation games will not be played this year, and game times have been spread out two hours apart instead of an hour and 45 minutes.
The state tournament is March 8-12 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
District assignments for Class 1A and 2A were released by the IHSAA last week.
Class 3A
SUBSTATE 1
Carroll
Denison-Schleswig
Le Mars
MOC-Floyd Valley
Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Sioux Center
Sioux City Heelan
Storm Lake
DISTRICT 2
Algona
Boone
Clear Lake
Estherville Lincoln Central
Hampton-Dumont-CAL
Humboldt
Spencer
Webster City
DISTRICT 3
Benton Community
Charles City
Crestwood
Decorah
Dubuque Wahlert
Independence
Waverly-Shell Rock
Western Dubuque
DISTRICT 4
Center Point-Urbana
DeWitt Central
Maquoketa
Monticello
Solon
South Tama
Vinton-Shellsburg
West Delaware
DISTRICT 5
Cedar Rapids Xavier
Davenport Assumption
Fairfield
Fort Madison
Keokuk
Marion
Mount Pleasant
Mount Vernon
DISTRICT 6
Centerville
Clear Creek Amana
Grinnell
Knoxville
Newton
Oskaloosa
Pella
Washington
DISTRICT 7
Ballard
Bondurant-Farrar
Carlisle
Gilbert
Nevada
North Polk
Saydel
Winterset
DISTRICT 8
Adel ADM
Atlantic
Clarke
Creston
Dallas Center-Grimes
Glenwood
Harlan
Perry
Class 4A
SUBSTATE 1
Council Bluffs Jefferson
Council Bluffs Lincoln
Sioux City East
Sioux City North
Sioux City West
Southeast Polk
SUBSTATE 2
Ames
Ankeny Centennial
Des Moines Hoover
Des Moines Lincoln
Fort Dodge
Indianola
SUBSTATE 3
Cedar Rapids Kennedy
Cedar Rapids Prairie
Iowa City West
Johnston
Linn-Mar
Ottumwa
SUBSTATE 4
Cedar Falls
Cedar Rapids Jefferson
Cedar Rapids Washington
Iowa City High
Waterloo East
Waterloo West
SUBSTATE 5
Clinton
Davenport West
Dubuque Hempstead
Dubuque Senior
Muscatine
North Scott
SUBSTATE 6
Bettendorf
Burlington
Davenport Central
Davenport North
Iowa City Liberty
Pleasant Valley
SUBSTATE 7
Des Moines East
Des Moines North
Lewis Central
Urbandale
West Des Moines Dowling
West Des Moines Valley
SUBSTATE 8
Ankeny
Des Moines Roosevelt
Marshalltown
Mason City
Norwalk
Waukee
Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com