Basketball Tourney Updates From Both Des Moines & Cedar Rapids

Yesterday was the first day of the girls state basketball tournament in Des Moines & area teams fared very well. Meanwhile, in Cedar Rapids, a metro team punched their ticket to next week's boys tourney.

Springville knocked off Fremont-Mills in a 1A match-up in Des Moines yesterday afternoon by a final score of 53-50. The Orioles next face unbeaten Exira/Elk Horn- Kimballton at 10 o'clock Thursday morning.

In Class 2-A, North Linn was victories last night with an 11-point win over Des Moines Christian. Up next is a 1:30 game Thursday afternoon, against the winner of Iowa City Regina/Western Christian.

Today features a 10 o'clock game for Iowa City Regina against Western Christian and tonight's 8:30 contest between Cedar Rapids Xavier and Harlan. You can follow those games live here.

On the boys side last night, Xavier qualified for next week's boy's state basketball tournament. They scored an incredible 56 second half points in their win over Mt. Vernon. The Saints reward for having won 8 in-a-row? An opening round state tournament game next Wednesday against Pella, who has won 19 in-a-row. Ah, tourney time.

Tonight, the U.S. Cellular hosts a pair of boys 4A Substate finals, with Cedar Rapids Washington battling unbeaten and 3-time defending champion Iowa City West in the 6:30 opener. That game features a 28-game winning streak for the Trojans of Iowa City West and five consecutive for the Washington Warriors.

The nightcap pits two metro schools against one another... as Cedar Rapids Kennedy takes on Linn-Mar. Kennedy takes a 6-game winning streak into the game, but Linn-Mar won the only regular-season match-up between the two.

No plans tonight? I highly recommend a visit to the U.S. Cellular Center for these games. You'll be able to feel the intensity the instant you walk in. Ah, tourney time... thee best time of the year. Best of luck to everyone trying to take the step to Des Moines tonight and to those that continue to compete there this week.