Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The boys state basketball tournament is just a little more than a week away.

The 2026 edition of the boys state tournament is scheduled to run March 9-13 at Casey’s Center in Des Moines.

Before the state tournament action gets rolling the fields need to be set in all four classes.

That begins on Saturday with substate title games in Classes 1A and 2A taking place around the state.

Here is a quick breakdown of the Class 2A substate title game between River Valley Conference rivals Regina and Northeast.

Class 2A, Substate 5

No. 2 Regina (21-1) vs. Northeast (17-7)  

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Muscatine High School

Statistical leaders: Regina – Tate Wallace, 6-3, Jr., 16.8 ppg., 5.9 rpg., 1.9 apg.; Will Litton, 6-5, Jr., 12.7 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 2.6 apg. Northeast – Jaxen Christiansen, 6-0, Soph., 21.9 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 4 apg., 1.9 spg.; Emerson Kreinbrink, 6-3, Jr., 15.4 ppg., 7.9 rpg., 1.8 apg.

About the Regals: Regina is seeking a second state tournament appearance in the past three seasons after falling in the substate semifinal last season,

The Regals enter the substate title game riding an 18-game winning streak that includes consecutive postseason wins that came by a combined score of 133-71.

Since its lone loss of the season to 3A eighth-ranked Solon on December 13, Regina has averaged 67.4 points per game while winning 18 games in a row.

Regina has been among the top defensive teams and most efficient offensive teams in Class 2A this season.

The Regals are allowing just 39.7 points per game which leads Class 2A and has allowed 40 or fewer points in 12 of 22 games this season.

Regina also leads Class 2A in field goal percentage, shooting 52.6 percent from the field this season while averaging 66.4 points per game.

Junior Tate Wallace leads three Regina players that average double digits at 16.8 points per game.

Will Litton is averaging 12.7 and sophomore Ben Wade is averaging 10.7 points and 6,7 rebounds per game.

About the Rebels: Northeast returns to the substate title game for the second consecutive season seeking its first state tournament trip since 2007.

The Rebels fell to Grundy Center in the substate title game last season but returned to the substate championship this season with back-to-back District 10 wins over Durant and Mid-Prairie.

Northeast opened the season 2-3 after three consecutive losses to 3A No. 7 Dubuque Wahlert, Regina and Cascade but has gone 15-4 since to reach the substate title game.

Of the seven losses for Northeast, five have come to ranked opponents including a pair of losses to 3A substate final qualifiers Dubuque Wahlert and Central DeWitt.

Northeast has three players averaging double digits led by sophomore Jaxen Christiansen who averages 21.9 points per game.

Junior Emerson Kreinbrink is averaging 15.9 points and 8 rebounds per game and senior Colby Gray is averaging 10.3 points per game.

Who to watch: Regina – Junior forward Tate Wallace has been one of the most productive and most consistent players in Class 2A this season.

Wallace leads Regina in scoring at 16.8 points per game and has scored in double figures in 17 of 19 games this season.

The 6-foot-3 Wallace is shooting 67 percent from the field and averaging 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Wallace had 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the first meeting with Northeast in December and as always, will be a key piece of the offensive game plan for the Regals in the rematch.

Northeast – Sophomore guard Jaxen Christiansen followed up an outstanding freshman season with a stellar sophomore campaign in which he emerged as one of the top scorers in Class 2A.

After averaging 15.8 points per game in his varsity debut season last year Christiansen ranks ninth in Class 2A in scoring this season at 21.9 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the floor including 34 percent from 3-point range.

Christiansen has done more than just score averaging 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocked shots per game

The 6-foot Christiansen has surged down the stretch averaging 26.3 points per game over the last three games.

Christiansen had 34 points in a win over Anamosa in the regular season finale and was an assist a way from a triple double in the District final win over Mid-Prairie on Tuesday finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Christiansen had 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting in a 63-55 loss to Regina back on December 9.

What to watch: These two teams met in Iowa City on December 9 with Regina rallying from a 24-19 halftime deficit with a 44-point second half on its way to a 63-55 win.

Regina shot 47 percent from the field in the December win over Northeast while the Rebels shot just 38 percent but did hold a 35-29 rebounding edge over Regina that included 17 offensive rebounds.

What stood out most from the stat sheet in the first meeting was where the offensive production came for both teams.

Christiansen and Kreinbrink, the top two scorers for Northeast, combined for 41 of the 55 points for the Rebels while combining to make 17-of-32 field goal attempts.

The rest of the Rebels combined for 14 points on 4-of-24 shooting in the 63-55 loss.

Regina had a similar offensive output as its top two scorers Wallace and Litton combined for 42 points on 17-of-30 shooting.

The rest of the Regals combined for 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting.

Both teams have strong scoring duos that will no doubt be relied on heavily on Saturday but the team that secures a trip to state could be the team that gets more offensive production from its third, fourth and fifth scoring options.

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