Americus-Sumter is ranked No. 1 and features a senior guard who has signed with Florida State. Marist is ranked No. 2 and features a senior guard who has signed with Purdue. Both teams are undefeated against Georgia opponents.
Credit: Todd Holcomb
Credit: Todd Holcomb
These two titans of Class AAAA girls basketball will meet Friday at Fort Valley State University in a super matchup that seems premature for just the elite eight of a state basketball tournament.
The No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in three other classifications also will meet in 14 sets of quarterfinals Thursday and Friday at seven college sites around the state. The semifinals will follow on Saturday.
For Marist, Purdue-bound Dominique Oden averages 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. For Americus-Sumter, FSU signeee A’tyanna Gaulden averages 21 points, eight assists and six steals. Both are player-of-the-year candidates.
‘’I hate for both of us to have to meet up in the quarterfinals,’’ Marist coach Kim Hixon said. “They’re definitely the best team we’ve played. That Gaulden kid, she’s special. But we’re up for the challenge and will give it all we’ve got.’’
The other three 1-2 matchups are No. 1 Morgan County vs. No. 2 Laney (AAA girls at Augusta University), No. 1 Holy Innocents’ vs. No. 2 Pelham (AA girls at Georgia College in Milledgeville) and No. 1 Thomasville vs. No. 2 Pace Academy (AA boys at Georgia College).
Here are more facts and figures on the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Best boys matchup: Thomasville's boys (28-1) have a deeper roster, with as many as four Division I recruits, but Pace Academy (20-9) has played the tougher schedule. Pace also has center Wendell Carter, a five-star recruit who scored 35 points and had 20 rebounds in a second-round win against Jefferson County.
Others boys games to watch: Defending AAA champion Jenkins plays No. 1-ranked Calhoun, the 2014 runner-up. Calhoun (27-0) has never won a state title in boys basketball. Also in AAA, 2014 champion and third-ranked Morgan County plays 2012 champion and second-ranked Laney for the third time this season. They've split.
Best girls matchup: The Holy Innocents'-Pelham game has the added spice of metro Atlanta private vs. South Georgia public. Those matchups, which also include the Thomasville-Pace boys game, will be less common moving forward as the new Class AA for 2016-17 is almost absent of private schools. Pace is moving up to AAA, while Holy Innocents' is moving to A private.
Others to watch: In AAAAAA, Parkview must beat Douglas County to maintain Gwinnett County's streak of sending a team to the semifinals in the highest classification each season since 2000. Second-ranked Flowery Branch plays third-ranked Brunswick in a AAAAA game in Columbus. Neither has ever made a semifinal.
Uncharted nets: Ten programs are in the quarterfinals for the first time. They are girls teams from West Forsyth (AAAAAA), Arabia Mountain (AAAA), Jackson-Atlanta (AAA) and Greenforest Christian (A) and boys teams from Grayson (AAAAAA), South Paulding (AAAAA), McIntosh (AAAA), Lakeview Academy (A), Pacelli (A) and Tattnall Square (A).
Fourth but not least: Each region sends four qualifiers to the state tournament in classes AA through AAAAAA. Only five fourth-place finishers have survived. They are Grayson's boys (AAAAAA), St. Pius' boys (AAAA), Holy Innocents' boys (AA), Winder-Barrow's girls (AAAAA) and Arabia Mountain's girls (AAAA).
What's next: All 28 semifinal games will be Saturday. The state finals are March 4-6 in Macon.
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