Iowa High School made its first trip to the state basketball tournament last season.

The Yellow Jackets will get a chance at a repeat trip this season as the No. 1 seed in nonselect Division II after the Louisiana High School Athletic Association released the boys basketball brackets Monday afternoon.

“Well, it is nice, but that just means the pressure is on us,” Iowa head coach Rob Melanson said. “It is the first time I have ever had a team going into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, especially since the power rankings have started.”

The Yellow Jackets reached the semifinals as the No. 2 seed in 2023.

Iowa (26-4) has won 18 of its last 19 games with all four of its losses coming against top-five teams in Zachary (nonselect Division I No. 1), Isidore Newman (select Division III No. 1), Peabody (select Division II No. 2) and Vandebilt Catholic (select Division II No. 5).

“I like the bracket that we are going to be in,” Melanson said. “Hopefully the schedule that we have played throughout the season, the tougher opponents that we have played, is going to pay off. I think that we played one of the tougher schedules in the state this year of any classification.”

Iowa won back-to-back district championships for the first time since winning three in a row from 1960 to 1962.

“We have stayed focused and stayed humble,” Melanson said. “I feel like we have also stayed hungry.

“Defensively, I thought we played well, especially in district where we didn’t allow anyone over 50 points. When you look at our district, people may think that it wasn’t a tough district, but out of the seven teams six made the playoffs and all six will be hosting a first-round ball game. That says a lot about the district.”

Iowa was one of six Southwest Louisiana teams, along with Vinton (18-4) in nonselect Division III, No. 3 Oakdale (15-6) and No. 4 Pickering (22-9) in nonselect Division IV, nonselect Division V No. 3 Lacassine (34-3) and select Division IV No. 6 Hamilton Christian (14-9), to receive a first-round bye.

Two Lake Area teams will meet in the first round in Lake Charles College Prep (13-8) and Washington-Marion (18-12), ranked No. 16 and 17 in select Division II. The teams met once in the regular season. The Charging Indians won 52-50 on Dec. 1 at the Hamilton Christian tournament. LCCP will host W-M at 7 p.m. Friday.

Both teams finished the regular season strong. LCCP won 12 of 13, while W-M won eight of nine and the District 3-4A championship.

Local boys basketball bidistrict playoff pairings

Nonselect

Division I

No. 19 Sam Houston at No. 14 Neville, 6:30 p.m. Friday

No. 25 Barbe at No. 8 Ruston, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 27 Sulphur at No. 6 Southside,

Division II

No. 1 Iowa, bye

No. 17 Albany at No. 16 South Beauregard

No. 24 DeRidder at No. 9 Plaquemine, 7 p.m. Friday

No. 20 Franklinton at No. 13 Jennings

No. 19 Leesville at No. 14 Minden, 6:30 p.m. Thursday

Division III

No. 21 Port Allen at No. 12 Westlake

No. 20 DeQuincy at No. 13 Red River, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 4 Vinton, bye

No. 19 Rosepine at No. 14 Jena, 7 p.m. Friday

Division IV

No. 24 East Beauregard at No. 9 Arcadia, 6:30 p.m. Friday

No. 25 Tensas at No. 8 Welsh, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 20 Montgomery at No. 13 Lake Arthur

No. 4 Pickering, bye

No. 3 Oakdale, bye

No. 19 Merryville at No. 14 White Castle

Division V

No. 25 Monterey at No. 8 Singer, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 20 Hackberry at No. 13 Midland, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 3 Lacassine, bye

No. 19 Reeves at No. 14 Choudrant, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 23 Fairview at No. 10 Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m. Friday

Select

Division II

No. 17 Washington-Marion at No. 16 Lake Charles College Prep, 7 p.m. Friday

No. 20 Booker T. Washington-Shreveport at No. 13 St. Louis Catholic

Division IV

No. 6 Hamilton Christian, bye