Eight high school basketball teams are in the final four of the state basketball tournament for the first time this year while Wilkinson County’s boys and Greater Atlanta Christian’s girls, among others, continue to climb in the state-tournament record books.
Here is a look at some of that history with a schedule of Friday’s and Saturday’s games at the bottom.
Boys in their first final fours: Four boys teams are in the semifinals for the first time. They are Meadowcreek (Class AAAAAAA), Heritage-Conyers (AAAAAA), Clarke Central (AAAAA) and Eagle's Landing Christian (A private). Each is one victory from its first state finals, and so are Sandy Creek (AAAA), Westside-Macon (AAA) and Aquinas (A private). Wilkinson County is in the final four for the 17th time, the most of any current semifinal team. That is second all-time behind Perry's 22 appearances.
Final-four appearances among current semifinal boys teams:
17 - Wilkinson County
15 - Gainesville
14 - Calhoun County
12 - Greater Atlanta Christian
11 - Norcross
10 - Miller Grove
9 - Newton
8 - Jonesboro
8 - Laney
8 - Warner Robins
7 - Morgan County
6 - Thomasville
6 - Vidalia
6 - St. Francis
5 - Central (Talbotton)
5 - Baldwin
4 - Jenkins
4 - Pebblebrook
4 - Montgomery County
3 - St. Pius
3 – Aquinas*
3 - Sandy Creek*
3 - Glenn Hills
3 - Holy Innocents'*
2 - Westside (Macon)*
2 - Upson-Lee
2 - Langston Hughes
2 - Hiram
1 - Clarke Central*
1 – Meadowcreek*
1 - Eagle's Landing Christian*
1 - Heritage (Conyers)*
*Never advanced to the finals
More boys history: Wilkinson County's boys won their 75th state-tournament game on Wednesday, a 67-63 win over Manchester. That moves Wilkinson (75-47) into first place all-time in tournament victories ahead of Savannah (74-47). Greater Atlanta Christian (57-23) and Gainesville (57-32) have moved into a 10th-place tie with Columbia (57-17). Miller Grove (47-4) has improved on its state record for winning percentage (.923).
Girls in their first final fours: Four girls teams are in the semifinals for the first time. They are North Forsyth (AAAAAAA), Spalding (AAAA), Tattnall County (AAA) and Fitzgerald (AA). In addition to those, Douglas County, Westlake, Greenville, Flowery Branch, Lovejoy and Northview are one victory from their first state final. Douglas County, in its sixth state semifinal, has the most final-four appearances in history without a title. Westlake is next with five. So they're hungry. Greater Atlanta Christian this week tied Taylor County with the most final-four appearances in history with 19. Wesleyan has tied Dodge County for third with its 17th appearance. Laney's 16 appearances rank fifth all-time.
Final-four appearances among current semifinal girls teams:
19 - Greater Atlanta Christian
17 - Wesleyan
16 - Laney
12 - Franklin County
12 - Terrell County
11 - Holy Innocents'
8 - McEachern
8 - Model
6 - Douglas County*
6 - Fayette County
6 - Josey
6 - St. Francis
5 - Newton
5 - Villa Rica
5 – Westlake*
4 - Telfair County
3 - Carver (Columbus)
3 – Greenville*
3 - Harris County
3 - Henry County
3 - Johnson (Savannah)
3 - Stratford Academy
2 - Americus-Sumter
2 - Flowery Branch*
2 - Harrison
2 – Lovejoy*
2 - Marion County
2 – Northview*
1 – Fitzgerald*
1 - North Forsyth*
1 – Spalding*
1 - Tattnall Square*
*Never advanced to the finals
More girls history: Wesleyan's victory this week over Calvary Day moved the Wolves into second all-time in state-tournament victories ahead of Taylor County (78-25) and behind Greater Atlanta Christian (85-31). Wesleyan is 79-5 in state-tournament history, and its winning percentage of .940 is No. 1. This is Wesleyan's 15th straight semifinal, a state record.
Boys/girls: Five schools have qualified their boys and girls teams. They are Newton (AAAAAAA), Greater Atlanta Christian (AAA), Laney (AA), Holy Innocents' (A private) and St. Francis (A private). It's happened 18 times that a school has swept the state titles, nine times since 2010. The most recent was Buford in 2017.
Schools that have swept boys and girls titles:
1952 - Stilson (C)
1958 - Murphy (AAA)
1958 - Jeff Davis (AA)
1959 - Roopville (C)
1963 - Hart County (AA)
1972 – Greater Atlanta Christian (C)
1987 - Clinch County (A)
2006 – Southwest Atlanta Christian (A)
2008 - Wesleyan (AA)
2010 – Wesleyan (A)
2010 – Columbia (AAA)
2011 – Norcross (AAAAA)
2012 – Miller Grove (AAAA)
2012 – Columbia (AAA)
2013 – Norcross (AAAAAA)
2015 – St. Francis (A)
2016 –Morgan County (AAA)
2017 – Buford (AAAAA)
Schedule:
FRIDAY
Class AAAA at Fort Valley State
Girls (2 p.m.): Americus-Sumter vs. Henry County
Boys (4 p.m.): Baldwin vs. St. Pius
Girls (6 p.m.): Carver-Columbus vs. Spalding
Boys (8 p.m.): Upson-Lee vs. Sandy Creek
Class A private at Columbus State
Girls (2 p.m.): Holy Innocents’ vs. Stratford
Boys (4 p.m.): Holy Innocents’ vs. St. Francis
Girls (6 p.m.) St. Francis vs. Wesleyan.
Boys (8 p.m.): Eagle’s Landing Christian vs. Aquinas
SATURDAY
Class AAAAAAA at Buford Civic Center
Girls (2 p.m.): McEachern vs. Newton
Boys (4 p.m.): Norcross vs. Newton
Girls (6 p.m.): Westlake vs. North Forsyth
Boys (8 p.m.): Meadowcreek vs. Pebblebrook
Class AAAAAA at West Georgia
Girls (2 p.m.): Northview vs. Lovejoy
Boys (4 p.m.): Heritage-Conyers vs. Gainesville
Girls (6 p.m.): Douglas County vs. Harrison
Boys (8 p.m.): Hughes vs. Jonesboro
Class AAAAA at Fort Valley State
Girls (2 p.m.): Villa Rica vs. Fayette County
Boys (4 p.m.): Hiram vs. Miller Grove
Girls (6 p.m.): Harris County vs. Flowery Branch
Boys (8 p.m.): Warner Robins vs. Clarke Central
Class AAA at Armstrong State
Girls (2 p.m.): Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Franklin County
Boys (4 p.m.): Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Morgan County
Girls (6 p.m.): Johnson-Savannah vs. Tattnall County
Boys (8 p.m.): Jenkins vs. Westside-Macon.
Class AA at Georgia College
Girls (2 p.m.): Model vs. Laney
Boys (4 p.m.): Vidalia vs. Laney
Girls (6 p.m.): Fitzgerald vs. Josey
Boys (8 p.m.): Thomasville vs. Glenn Hills
Class A public at Valdosta State
Girls (2 p.m.): Telfair County vs. Greenville
Boys (4 p.m.): Calhoun County vs. Montgomery County
Girls (6 p.m.): Terrell County vs. Marion County
Boys (8 p.m.): Central-Talbotton vs. Wilkinson County
