Here are some of the top stories to watch this weekend involving Class AAAAA basketball teams:
*One last hurdle: Second-ranked McIntosh (24-0) will be the only Class AAAAA boys team to finish the regular season undefeated if it can win at home on Friday against Northgate (3-21, 1-16), a team it beat 84-46 on Jan. 17. McIntosh will be the top seed from Division A in the 4-AAAAA tournament, which begins Saturday at Drew. The Chiefs have byes into the quarterfinals and will play their first tournament game on Thursday. Two other boys teams – No. 1 Miller Grove of 6-AAAAA and No. 6 Allatoona of 5-AAAAA – went undefeated in region play, and No. 5 Brunswick of 3-AAAAA can join them with a victory Friday against Glynn Academy.
*Tournament time: The boys teams from Riverwood, Dalton, Rome and Kell and the girls teams from fourth-ranked Sequoyah, Kell, Creekview and Sprayberry will receive byes into the Tuesday (girls) and Wednesday (boys) quarterfinals of the 7-AAAAA tournament, which begins Friday at Creekview. The Dalton and North Atlanta girls will play in the first of four games Friday, and there will be eight more games on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Check with ajc.com next week for scores and schedules for every region tournament in the state.
*Heating up: One unranked girls team that might be worth watching in the postseason is Salem. The Seminoles, who reached the quarterfinals last season before losing to eventual champion Tucker, appear to be getting hot at the right time. Salem has won three consecutive games since the return of LSU signee Ayanna Mitchell from an elbow injury, and it goes into Saturday's regular-season finale against Heritage-Conyers at 16-8 overall and 8-4 against 8-AAAAA competition. Mitchell leads the team with 18.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, and teammate Shay Tarver adds 15.9 points. In a 37-32 victory over Loganville on Tuesday, Tarver scored her 1,000th career point and Mitchell grabbed her 1,000th career rebound.
*Games of note: Here are some of the Friday games worth watching: The Carver-Columbus boys team (18-5, 9-2) can clinch sole possession of first place in 1-AAAAA with a victory at last-place Hardaway (2-21, 1-10). ... The winner of the Effingham County-South Effingham girls game in Springfield will finish in second place in 3-AAAAA behind Brunswick. South Effingham won the first meeting 48-45 at home on Dec. 13. ... Top-ranked Brunswick (24-0) can finish the regular season as the only undefeated girls team in AAAAA with a victory against Glynn Academy. Brunswick won the first meeting at Glynn Academy 43-29 on Dec. 12.
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