Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The calendar has switched to February which means the postseason for basketball teams in Iowa is right around the corner.

With the start of postseason play just a few days away boys basketball teams in Class 1A and 2A got their first look at their playoff paths on Monday.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released substate pairings for Classes 1A and 2A with a pair of area teams getting a look at their road to the state tournament which is set for March 6-10 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Here are a few initial observations from the release of the 1A and 2A pairings on Monday.

Regina Makes Move to Class 1A

Regina makes the drop down to Class 1A this season and landed in District 12 and will travel to Hillcrest Academy (10-10) for its postseason opener on February 13.

This is an interesting draw for Regina (8-12) in its first season playing in 1A in recent history.

The Hillcrest and Regina winner would likely get a substate 6 quarterfinal trip to Lynnville-Sully (18-2) which hosts the winner of English Valleys (4-17) and Tri-County (2-16) in its opener.

Before looking at its opener with Hillcrest the initial analysis is that Regina avoided a potential district semifinal matchup with second-ranked North Scott, third-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck or fifth-ranked WACO.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck (18-1) is the top-seed in District 11 which is the top half of the Substate 6 bracket.

The opener between Regina and Hillcrest should be among the better district quarterfinals in the state.

The 8-12 record for Regina has come against a largely 2A schedule while Hillcrest has an eight-point win over West Liberty which Regina beat in overtime in December and will close the regular season with on Tuesday.

These two teams  played in the Achieve scrimmage at Hillcrest back in November.

Hillcrest is coached by long-time coach Dwight Gingerich and is led by 6-foot-3 senior Grant Bender who is averaging 17.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.

An Opening-Round Rematch and Potential Second Round Test for West Branch

There is a familiar foe awaiting West Branch in its postseason opener.

West Branch (10-9) will face River Valley Conference Durant (6-14) for the third time this season in a District 9 opener on February 13 in West Branch.

The Bears have won each of the first two meetings between the two teams this season, both in January.

West Branch won 77-49 in West Branch on January 13 and defeated the Wildcats 65-49 in Durant on January 31.

If the Bears make it 3-0 against Durant things get significantly more difficult with a trip to third-ranked Aplington-Parkersburg (18-1).

The Falcons lead 2A in scoring at 79.3 points per game, have scored 80 or more points 11 times including in their only loss, an 83-80 setback at 1A third-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

A meeting between West Branch and Aplington-Parkersburg would set up a showdown between two of the best guards in 2A in A-P senior Garrett Hempen and West Branch junior Holden Arnaman.

Hempen ranks 13^th in 2A in scoring at 21.7 points per game while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range to go with 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Arnaman ranks 10^th in 2A in scoring at 21.7 points per game and is third with 5.8 assists per game.

West Branch is 6-2 over its last eight games, with both losses to Wilton, and Arnaman is averaging 25.5 points and 5.75 assists per game during that stretch.

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