My first attempt at picking the winners of the Class AAAAAA basketball touranments didn't go so well. Wheeler's boys lost in the first round; Norcross' girls lost in the second.
Here's another shot, beginning with the quarterfinals Thursday at West Georgia.
Although the Wheeler pick was a disaster, very few saw that coming (Wheeler lost to unranked Grayson), or the demise of No. 2 Tift County (to Milton at home). Both games were won in the final 5 seconds. (See Milton's game-winning shot in the Youtube video below, courtesy of In the Game Sports Network.)
The other six elite-eight teams were correctly forecast, including third-seed Campbell.
The best remaining boys teams are probably Westlake and Shiloh, which play each other Friday. Go with Westlake. The Pebblebrook-McEachern game is intriguing, too. Pebblebrook has played a very tough schedule and is proven. McEachern was dominant against a weaker schedule but very impressive in beating Berkmar 70-49.
The girls' final eight is even less surprising. Westlake's win over Norcross was only significant upset. But that, combined with McEachern's demolition of fifth-ranked Archer, suggests that Gwinnett County's regions (7 and 8) weren't as powerful as usual. All signs point to Douglas County, McEachern or Tucker. Hard to see any other winner.
BOYS
R2 #1 Newton d. R8 #4 Grayson
R3 #1 Westlake d. R8 #1 Shiloh
R3 #3 Campbell d. R5 #2 Milton
R3 #2 Pebblebrook d. R4 #1 McEachern
Westlake d. Newton
Pebblebrook d. Campbell
Westlake d. Pebblebrook
GIRLS
R2 #1 Tucker d. R5 #1 Woodstock
R3 #1 Douglas County d. R8 #1 Parkview
R6 #1 West Forsyth d. R5 #2 Cherokee
R4 #1 McEachern d. R3 #2 Westlake
Douglas County d. Tucker
McEachern d. West Forsyth
Douglas County d. McEachern
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