Tift County, the 2014 Class AAAAAA boys champion, was among eight Top 10 teams that failed to get out of the first round of the high school basketball playoffs this week.
Those results will be tame compared to what is in store for the second round, to be played Friday and Saturday with 224 games around the state. There are 17 games between Top 10 teams, including as many as five No. 1-ranked teams.
Here is a wrap on the first round and a preview to the second.
What's with Tift? Tift County was beaten at home by Newton, the fourth-place team from Region 2-AAAAAA, 52-49. Tift joins 2012 Norcross (lost in the first round) and 2013 Milton (banned from the state playoffs) as recent boys champions in the highest class that were done quickly a year later. The Blue Devils finished 26-2 but were not the same after the graduation of all-class player of the year Tadric Jackson, now at Georgia Tech.
Who else is gone? South Atlanta's girls, ranked No. 4 in AAA, were making their first appearance in the state playoffs since 1999, but tradition won out. Washington County, unranked but a quarterfinalist the past four seasons, beat the Hornets 57-54. Other ranked teams that lost, all against unranked teams, were No. 8 Drew to Statesboro (AAAAA boys), No. 6 Albany to Upson-Lee (AAAA boys), No. 3 Effingham County to Dutchtown (AAAAA girls), No. 9 South Effingham to Woodland-Stockbridge (AAAAA girls), No. 7 Mary Persons to Monroe (AAAA girls) and No. 8 Morgan County to Franklin County (AAA girls).
What's next? At least four No. 1 teams are playing ranked opponents in the second round. They are Wheeler vs. No. 8 Douglas County (AAAAAA boys), Osborne vs. No. 8 North Forsyth (AAAAAA girls), Brunswick vs. No. 8 Stephenson (AAAAA girls) and Jonesboro vs. No. 4 St. Pius (AAAA boys). Pending Thursday's late game, No. 1 Dawson County would play No. 10 Dodge County (AA girls). Brunswick and Dawson County are undefeated.
Who's endangered? Asia Durr of St. Pius and Te'a Cooper of McEachern are regarded as the top senior girls players in the state. Both are in danger of playing the final games of their high school careers. St. Pius, ranked No. 5 in AAAA, plays at No. 2 Jonesboro. McEachern, ranked No. 9 in AAAAAA, plays at No. 4 South Forsyth. Durr has signed with Louisville, Cooper with Tennessee. Both have led their teams to two state titles in their careers.
What else is interesting? There are 10 other games between ranked teams. Chief among those is probably No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian – the two-time defending Class AA boys champions - at No. 3 Crawford County. GAC coach Eddie Martin has won 10 straight second-round games, the past six with GAC and the previous four with Norcross.
Got any more? Hoping to reach the quarterfinals for the 15th straight season, the third-ranked Wesleyan girls must travel to No. 4 Putnam County, a 2014 semifinalist. Wesleyan has bagged 10 state titles since 2002 and not gone two seasons without a state title since 2000-01. Wesleyan was the runner-up last season to Kendrick, which also knocked out Putnam.
What's new? The Class A state playoffs begin. They are split into 16-team public and private divisions and require only four rounds. The No. 1 seeds, determined by a points rating system, are Taylor County (girls public), Calhoun County (boys public) and St. Francis (girls and boys private). Seven Class A teams are in the state tournament for the first time, according to the Georgia Basketball Project. They are Tattnall Square's boys and girls, and girls teams from Mount Pisgah, Our Lady of Mercy, Pinecrest Academy and Quitman County. Georgia Military College's boys are in the tournament for the first time since 1929. They face defending public-school champion Wilkinson County.
What's next? The quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday at the gyms of the higher-seeded teams. The semifinals will be Feb. 27-28 at several neutral college sites. The finals are March 5-7 in Macon, where 14 state-championship teams will be determined.
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