Only four top-10 teams didn’t make it out of the first round of the state basketball tournament last week, and home teams were 90-22.
Something’s got to give, and there are 22 games between top-10 teams to make that happen in the second round, which will be played Wednesday and Thursday on the home courts of the higher-seeded teams.
Even without any major upsets, the opening round did have some proud and historic moments. Some of those were had by Mill Creek, Morgan County, Rockmart and Dacula, among others.
Here’s a look back at round one and a look ahead to round two.
Upsets: There weren't many, but the most unexpected was Mill Creek's 51-44 victory over seventh-ranked Brookwood, the Region 7-AAAAAAA champion.
Mill Creek (17-9) was the Region 6 regular-season runner-up but lost twice in the region tournament and wound up the fourth seed. That’s dangerous for sure, but Brookwood had been 11-0 since New Year’s Day and won its first region title since 2011.
Other ranked teams to lose were No. 8 North Cobb in AAAAAAA (beaten by Pebblebrook), No. 7 Douglas County in AAAAAA (beaten by Dacula) and No. 10 Washington County in AA (beaten by No. 8 Bryan County). Also worth noting is Morgan County’s victory over unranked Kendrick, the Region 4-AAA champion. Region 4 would’ve advanced all four of its teams, but the champion was ousted by the 32nd qualifier.
First-time advancers: Rockmart opened in 1912. The first state basketball tournament for Georgia girls was held in 1945. Rockmart's girls won their first state-tournament game on Friday night.
It was a little anti-climactic as the Yellow Jackets, the champions of 7-AA, defeated Washington 74-48, Rockmart (19-6) will have a second-round home game against Elbert County. Other teams winning their first-ever state-playoff games in the first round were New Manchester (AAAAAA), Heritage-Ringgold (AAAA) and Tallulah Falls (A private).
Drought-breakers: Dacula's girls had lost in the first round each of the past four seasons and hadn't advanced in the state playoffs since 2004, and they weren't favored to win this one – a road game at No. 7 Douglas County in the first round. But Dacula got through with a 60-55 victory and now gets a shot at No. 10 Harrison for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Other teams winning for the first time in over 10 years were Cass (1994), Chattooga (1988), Glynn Academy (2008) and Jones County (2006).
Region sweeps: Only one region got all four of its teams into the second round. Region 7-AAAA (Villa Rica, Carrollton, Rome, Cass) swept 6-AAAA (Riverwood, Maynard Jackson, Decatur, Lithia Springs).
Best second-round game: Jefferson, a quarterfinalist in AAAA the past two seasons, dropped down in class this academic year and is 24-3 and ranked No. 2. But the Dragons' 10-game winning streak ended in the final of the Region 8-AAA tournament against Hart County, a team they had beaten three previous times. That conspired to put Jefferson on the road at No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian, the reigning AAA runner-up. GAC is 17-11.
Other games to watch: Other round-of-16 games match top-10 teams, three involving No. 1-ranked teams (Buford, Fitzgerald, Holy Innocents'):
No. 10 Norcross at No. 3 Grayson in AAAAAAA
No. 9 Stephenson at No. 6 Glynn Academy in AAAAAA
No. 6 Veterans at No. 7 Statesboro, No. 8 Carrollton at No. 1 Buford and No. 9 Arabia Mountain at No. 2 Villa Rica in AAAAA
No. 8 Luella at No. 9 Baldwin and No. 10 Northwest Whitfield at No. 6 Sandy Creek in AAAA
No. 8 Peach County at No. 6 Tattnall County and No. 7 North Hall at No. 3 Hart County in AAA
No. 9 Swainsboro at No. 4 Laney, No. 5 Early County at No. 7 Woodville-Tompkins and No. 8 Bryan County at No. 1 Fitzgerald in AA
No. 10 Greenforest Christian at No. 1 Holy Innocents’ and No. 9 Paideia at No. 8 Eagle’s Landing Christian in A-private; and …
No. 10 Central-Talbotton at No. 6 Georgia Military and No. 7 Mitchell County at No. 9 Clinch County in A-public.
What's next: The quarterfinals are Feb. 26-27. That marks the first round in which region champions and same-seeded teams can face each other.
Home-court advantage will be decided by a universal coin flip held in the GHSA offices. The higher-seeded team is home in all other cases.
The semifinals will be March 2 on neutral courts, and the finals are March 6-9 in Macon.
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