Drake sophomore Tucker DeVries has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. De Vries averaged 19 points and more than five and a half rebounds for a Bulldog team that- finished the regular season 24-7 and 15-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake opens the Valley Tournament in St. Louis Friday night.

A year ago DeVries was named the Valley Freshman of the Year.

DeVries became a much more consistent shooter this season as a sophomore.

DeVries becomes the fifth different Bulldog to win the Larry Bird Trophy and the first since Adam Emmenecker in 2008.

The UNI Panthers open Arch Madness in St. Louis Thursday afternoon by taking on Illinois State in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Tournament. The eighth seeded Panthers are 13-17 and beat the Redbirds twice, including a 65-63 win in Cedar Falls in mid-January.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson. The Illinois State combination of Darius Burford and Seneca Knight is averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Panther guard Bowen Born has struggled with a calf injury but did manage to play 30 minutes in the regular season finale against Belmont.

Illinois State is 11-20. Redbird coach Ryan Pedon says his team must match UNI’s toughness.

Pedon says another key will be forcing Bowen Born to take tough shots.

The winner will advance to play top seed and regular season champion Bradley on Friday.

AMES, Iowa – Senior guard Caleb Grill is no longer with the Iowa State men’s basketball team, due to a failure to meet the program’s expectations.

“We hold our players to high standards and there are expectations that our student-athletes are held accountable for,” Iowa State men’s basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.

Grill appeared in 25 games with 22 starts, this season. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Class 2A Quarterfinals

10:00 a.m. – #2 Central Lyon 66,  #7 Panorama 30
Box Score|Game Summary

11:45 a.m. – #6 Pocahontas Area 47, #3 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 36
Box Score | Game Summary

Class 1A Quarterfinals

1:30 p.m. – #1 Algona Bishop Garrigan 67, #8 Martensdale-St. Marys 44
Box Score | Game Summary

3:15 p.m. – #4 Remsen St. Mary’s 54, #5 West Fork 41
Box Score | Game Summary

5:00 p.m. – #2 Newell-Fonda 81, #7 Woodbine 60
Box Score | Game Summary

6:45 p.m. – #3 North Linn 68, #6 Winfield-Mount Union 36
Box Score | Game Summary

AMES, Iowa – The run for Ashley Joens to three-peat as Cheryl Miller Award winner has reached its final stage, as the Iowa State star was named one of five finalists for the prize given to women’s college basketball’s best small forward, the Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday.

The other finalists are Rickea Jackson of Tennessee, Haley Jones of Stanford, Gianna Kneepkens of Utah and Madi Williams of Oklahoma.

Joens has once again been outstanding for Iowa State this season, leading the Big 12 and ranking 17th in the country with her 20.5 points per game. She has saved some of her best basketball for the end of the season, as she has scored at least 20 in each of Iowa State’s last four games. Joens continues to be one of the best rebounders around as well, ranking fourth in the Big 12 with her 9.2 rebounds per game, which she has helped convert into 11 double-doubles.

Joens’ many individual milestones continue to pile up, as she is just two games played away from setting a new Big 12 record in that category and is only 98 points away from becoming the 14th player in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball history to reach 3,000 career points.

Fan voting for the Cheryl Miller Award will begin on Friday on hoophallawards.com. The fan vote will count as one committee vote during the final selection process.

Joens and No. 23 Iowa State are in action tonight at Kansas. Tip will be at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Class 3A Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 7th

2:00—#1 Bondurant-Farrar vs. #8 Algona

3:45—#4 Newton vs. #5 North Polk

5:30—#3 Marion vs. #6 Bishop Heelan, Sioux City

7:15—#2 Xavier, Cedar Rapids vs. #7 Des Moines, Hoover

Class 4A Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 8

10:30—#2 Waukee vs. #7 Ames

12:15—#3 Waukee NW vs. #6 Ankeny Centennial

2:00—#1 Cedar Rapids, Kennedy vs. #8 Pleasant Valley

3:45—#4 Valley, WDM vs. #5 Norwalk

Class 3A Substate Finals

Substate 6 @ Okaloosa: Newton 60, Solon 46

Class 4A Substate Finals

Substate 1 @ Denison: Norwalk 64, Sioux City East 58

Substate 2 @ Marshalltown: Ankeny Centennial 54, Cedar Falls 47

Substate 3 @ Central DeWitt: Pleasant Valley 54, Dubuque Senior 51

Substate 4 @ Iowa City West: Cedar Rapids Kennedy 76, North Scott 48

Substate 5 @ Marshalltown: Valley 66, Waterloo West 41

Substate 6 @ Nevada: Ames 67, Linn-Mar 49

Substate 7 @ Dowling Catholic: Waukee Northwest 73, Des Moines Roosevelt 62

Substate 8 @ Hoover High School: Waukee 49, Dallas Center-Grimes 38

The race for seeding in next week’s Big 12 Tournament is underway for the 23rd ranked Iowa State women as they get ready for tomorrow night’s game at Kansas. The Cyclones enter the final week of the regular season tied for third with Oklahoma State.

That’s Cyclone coach Bill Fennelly who says without a truly dominant team the league tournament will be wide open.

Kansas enters the game with a 7-9 Big 12 record.

ISU is 10-6 in the Big 12.

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson says improvement on defense will be the key to a deep run in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Panthers are the eighth seed and open Thursday afternoon against ninth seeded Illinois State. UNI lost eight of nine to close the regular season and defensive breakdowns were a major factor.

Jacobson says defense will be the focus heading into the tournament.

Jacobson says there are areas the Panthers have made strides despite their struggles.

UNI finished the regular season 13-17.

Iowa junior Caitlin Clark has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year. It is the second straight season Clark has won the award and it has gone to an Iowa player five times in the past six years.

That’s Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. Clark is averaging better than 27 points, eight rebounds and nearly seven and a half assists.

The seventh ranked Hawkeyes are the second seed in the Big Ten Tournament in the Twin Cities and open Friday night against the winner of Thursday’s game between Purdue and Wisconsin.