The high school state basketball tournament begins this week with 160 first-round games Tuesday and Wednesday, each played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The tournament will culminate five rounds later on March 4-6 in Macon.
Here is a primer on the tournament, first played in 1922.
Tidbits include the Seminole County-Crawford County Class AA title game rematch and the first appearance at state of an Adairsville's girls team since the Eisenhower Administration.
The favorites: The No. 1-ranked boys teams are Wheeler (AAAAAA), Allatoona (AAAAA), Jonesboro (AAAA), Calhoun (AAA), Thomasville (AA) and Greenforest Christian (A). The No. 1 girls teams are Tucker (AAAAAA), Southwest DeKalb (AAAAA), Americus-Sumter (AAAA), Morgan County (AAA), Holy Innocents' (AA) and St. Francis (A).
Cinderallas: Centennial's girls (12-14) finished eighth in the regular season but wound up the No. 3 seed out of Region 6-AAAAAA. Troup's girls (7-17) qualified despite a last-place finish in 5-AAAAAA. Boys teams at Hiram (11-18) and North Oconee (7-20) also had unexpected practices on Monday.
Top boys players: Georgia's most nationally known boys players are McDonald's All-Americans Kobi Simmons of St. Francis (signed with Arizona) and Alterique Gilbert of Miller Grove (Connecticut) and uncommitted post player Wendell Carter of Pace Academy, rated one of the top two recruits nationally in the class of 2017.
Top girls players: Florida State has signed two of Georgia's best out of Class AAA – A'Tyanna Gaulden of No. 1 Americus-Sumter and Nausia Woolfolk of No. 5 Peach County. Erika Cassell (N.C. State signee) leads No. 1 Holy Innocents' of AA. Maryland-bound post Jenna Staiti of West Forsyth's is the highest-rated senior recruit.
Best first-round boys matchups: In a rematch of the 2015 title game in AA, No. 8 Seminole County (18-5) will travel to No. 3 Crawford County (22-3). Seminole won 76-71 last year. Two other boys games match ranked teams. No. 9 Monroe (20-6) is playing at No. 7 Walnut Grove (24-4) in AAAA. No. 5 South Atlanta (22-6) is going to No. 9 Johnson-Savannah (20-7) in AAA.
Best first-round girls matchups: In AAAAA, Warner Robins plays at Glynn Academy in a game between girls teams ranked No. 1 in just the past month.
Faithful to attend: Dodge County's girls have made the state tournament each season since 1992, the longest streak of its kind. Tift County (1994) and Westover (1995) have the longest boys streaks.
Newcomers: The only two teams in for the first time are Woodstock's boys (school opened in 1997) and Coahulla Creek's boys (2012). There are no first-time girls teams.
Drought-breaking boys: Southwest-Macon, which won five state championships from 1975 through 1989, is back after going missing for 13 years. Also back for the first time since 2002 is Jackson County's boys.
Drought-breaking girls: That last time that Adairsville's girls made the state tournament, the rules called for six players to a side, three on offense and three on defense. That was 1958. Other girls teams ending famines are Winder-Barrow (1994), Lamar County (1999) and Berrien (2000).
Still no guarantees: As many as 29 state qualifiers have never won a state-tournament game. Most interesting are perhaps Colquitt County's boys and Grayson's boys, both known for football.
Interesting to note: Collins Hill's girls have made it for the first time since its run of three state championships (2005-07) with Maya Moore.
Conspicuously absent: South Forsyth's girls (20-6) had made it each of the past three seasons and reached semifinals in 2014. This season, South was ranked No. 3 entering the final week of the regular season. But four-year leading scorer Sarah Myers, signed with Maryland, injured an ankle. Two losses later – including an elimination game in the region tournament – ended the War Eagles' season and Myers' career. Two other teams ranked after the regular season didn't make it. They were the boys teams at Redan and Westminster.
Where from here? The second round is Friday-Saturday except for Class A, which will just be starting. The quarterfinals and semifinals for all six classes are Feb. 25-27 at several colleges across the state. The 12 state-championship games will be at the Macon Coliseum.
Seminole County defeated Crawford County 76-71 in the 2015 Class AA championship game in Macon. They play again Wednesday in Roberta. Here is the 2015 game courtesy of GPB.
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