Washington will have to make the Class 4A boys state basketball tournament the hard way this year.

No.1 Linn-Mar, No.3 Kennedy and No.9 Jefferson have drawn high seeds and first-round byes for the substate tournaments that begin Feb. 21, but Washington drew a No.3 seed and will have to win three games to reach the state tournament instead of just two.

Linn-Mar and Kennedy are No.1 seeds and drew first-round byes. The Lions and Cougars could be part of an attractive doubleheader at the U.S. Cellular Center on March 1 in the substate finals, playing back-to-back games for berths at state without having to face each other on the road to Des Moines.

Jefferson is a No.2 seed and also drew a bye, but the J-Hawks could have to play No.1 seed Cedar Falls at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls for a trip to state. Cedar Falls beat the J-Hawks, 60-54, in a conference game at Jefferson Monday night.

The Class 3A and 4A postseason pairings were announced Tuesday by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Washington will host Clinton in a substate opener on Monday, Feb. 21, but the Warriors would have to play at Dubuque Senior in the semifinals on Feb. 25 for a spot in the substate finals.

Washington and Kennedy are in the same substate. Kennedy drew the No.1 seed, but Dubuque Senior drew the No.2 seed ahead of Washington in the IHSAA formula.

Xavier will play Ottumwa in a substate opener Feb. 21 at Ottumwa. Prairie plays at Waterloo West in its substate opener Feb. 21.

Linn-Mar will host Ottumwa or Xavier in the semifinals on Feb. 25, Kennedy will host Bettendorf or Dubuque Hempstead, and Jefferson will host Western Dubuque or Waterloo East.

Marion will host Center Point-Urbana in a Class 3A district opener on Feb. 21. If the Indians win that game, they'd face Mount Vernon or Independence in the district finals on Feb. 24 at Kennedy. And if they win that game, they'd play in the Class 3A substate finals Feb. 28 at the U.S. Cellular Center for a trip to state.

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE 6
  Quarterfinals (Feb. 21)
No.6 Iowa City High at No.3 Pleasant Valley, 7 p.m.
No.5 Xavier at No.4 Ottumwa, 7 p.m.
  Semifinals (Feb. 25)
Xavier/Ottumwa at No.1 Linn-Mar, 7 p.m.
Iowa City High/Pleasant Valley at No.2 North Scott, 7 p.m.
  Finals (March 1)
U.S. Cellular Center, 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE 4
  Quarterfinals (Feb. 21)
No.6 Clinton at No.3 Washington, 7 p.m.
No.5 Dubuque Hempstead at No.4 Bettendorf, 7 p.m.
  Semifinals (Feb. 25)
Bettendorf/Hempstead at No.1 Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Washington/Clinton at No.2 Dubuque Senior, 7 p.m.
  Finals (March 1)
U.S. Cellular Center, 8 p.m.

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE 3
  Quarterfinals (Feb. 21)
No.6 Waterloo East at No.3 Western Dubuque, 7 p.m.
No.5 Prairie at No.4 Waterloo West, 7 p.m.
  Semifinals (Feb. 25)
Prairie/Waterloo West at No.1 Cedar Falls, 7 p.m.
Western Dubuque/Waterloo East at No.2 Jefferson, 7 p.m.
  Finals (March 1)
McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A DISTRICT 8
  Semifinals (Feb. 21)
Center Point-Urbana at Marion, 7 p.m.
Independence at Mount Vernon, 7 p.m.
  Finals (Feb. 24)
At Kennedy, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A SUBSTATE 4
  Finals (Feb. 28)
At U.S. Cellular Center, 8 p.m.