Eight high school basketball teams will make their first state semifinals appearances in history Friday and Saturday while eight others will break droughts of more than 20 years when the state tournament resumes at five neutral sites.
Ten unranked teams are among the 64 still playing. Three finished fourth in their regions and had to win three consecutive road games to get here.
While underdogs have thrived, the favorites haven’t changed much, as 14 of the 16 No. 1-ranked teams got through, eight that are defending champions.
This weekend’s state semifinal schedule | Game stories and updates
Here’s a closer look at the semifinals, which will be played at Georgia State, Georgia College, West Georgia University, Fort Valley State and Savannah State.
Teams to beat (boys): The surviving No. 1 teams are Grayson (Class 7A), Alexander (6A), Kell (5A), Sandy Creek (3A), Westside-Augusta (2A), Mount Vernon (A Division I) and Greenforest Christian (A Division II). Alexander, Kell, Sandy Creek and Westside are defending champions along with third-ranked Wheeler of 7A. Grayson and Mount Vernon have never won titles. The ousted No. 1 is McDonough, beaten in the Class 4A quarterfinals, leaving first-time semifinalist North Oconee as the highest-ranked 4A team at No. 3.
Teams to beat (girls): The surviving No. 1 teams are Grayson (7A), River Ridge (6A), Baldwin (4A), Hebron Christian (3A), Mount Paran Christian (2A), St. Francis (A Division I) and Greenforest Christian (A Division II). River Ridge, Hebron, Mount Paran Christian and St. Francis are defending champions. Grayson and Greenforest have never won. The ousted No. 1 is Union Grove, beaten in the 5A semifinals by second-ranked Maynard Jackson.
Best game (boys): Defending 7A champion Wheeler faces second-ranked McEachern, which has the state’s top player, Rutgers signee Ace Bailey. Wheeler’s top player is Josh Hill, a top-125 national prospected headed to Arkansas State. Both teams are from Cobb County. They play Saturday at Georgia State.
Best game (girls): No. 1 River Ridge and No. 3 Marist of 6A haven’t lost since before Christmas, with River Ridge on an 18-game win streak and Marist on a 20-game streak. River Ridge is the defending 6A champion. Marist won state two years ago. They play Saturday at West Georgia.
First-timers: The eight first-time semifinalists are boys teams from North Oconee, Riverwood and Toombs County and girls teams from Athens Christian, Central-Macon, Grayson, North Oconee and North Paulding. The oldest are Central (opened in 1970) and Riverwood (1971).
Drought-breakers: The eight making their first semifinals appearances this century are boys teams from Winder-Barrow (1963), Paideia (1998) and Maynard Jackson (1991, then known as Southside) and girls teams from Midtown (1986, then known as Grady), Murray County (1966), Cartersville (1982), Montgomery County (1984) and Monroe (1998).
Road warriors: Boys teams from Riverwood (6A), Maynard Jackson (5A) and Mount Pisgah Christian (A Division I) reached the semifinals as fourth-seeded teams, meaning they haven’t played a home game in the tournament. No. 3 seeds Carver-Columbus (3A) and Butler (2A) also have played entirely on the road. All remaining girls teams finished first or second in their regions and opened at home.
Unranked: Riverwood, Jackson and Mount Pisgah Christian are unranked. So are boys teams from Jonesboro, Winder-Barrow, Benedictine, Johnson-Savannah and Manchester. The Riverwood-Jonesboro game in Class 6A guarantees an unranked finalist. The unranked girls teams are Cartersville and Dalton.
Doubling up: Six schools have their boys and girls teams in the semifinals. They are Baldwin, Carver-Columbus, Grayson, Greenforest Christian, Maynard Jackson and North Oconee. The GHSA has set the schedules so their teams will play one after the other.
Next: The 16 championship games will be played March 6-9 at the Macon Coliseum.
Semifinals schedule:
Friday
Class 5A
At West Georgia
1 p.m. (girls) – Maynard Jackson vs. Cartersville
3 p.m. (boys) – Eagle’s Landing vs. Maynard Jackson
5 p.m. (girls) – Dalton vs. Midtown
7 p.m. (boys) – Winder-Barrow vs. Kell
Class A Division II
At Fort Valley State
1 p.m. (girls) – Clinch County vs. Montgomery County
3 p.m. (boys) – Manchester vs. Warren County
5 p.m. (girls) – Greenforest Christian vs. Taylor County
7 p.m. (boys) – Greenforest Christian vs. Macon County
Class A Division I
At Georgia College
1 p.m. (girls) – Galloway vs. Rabun County
3 p.m. (boys) – Paideia vs. Savannah
5 p.m. (girls) – Athens Christian vs. St. Francis
7 p.m. (boys) – Mount Pisgah Christian vs. Mount Vernon
Saturday
Class 7A
At Georgia State
1 p.m. (girls) – Cherokee vs. North Paulding
3 p.m. (boys) – Wheeler vs. McEachern
5 p.m. (girls) – Grayson vs. Lowndes
7 p.m. (boys) – Grayson vs. Milton
Class 6A
At West Georgia
1 p.m. (girls) – Veterans vs. North Forsyth
3 p.m. (boys) – Alexander vs. Woodward Academy
5 p.m. (girls) – Marist vs. River Ridge
7 p.m. (boys) – Jonesboro vs. Riverwood
Class 4A
At Fort Valley State
1 p.m. (girls) – Baldwin vs. Fayette County
3 p.m. (boys) – Baldwin vs. North Oconee
5 p.m. (girls) – North Oconee vs. Hardaway
7 p.m. (boys) – Benedictine vs. Holy Innocents’
Class 3A
At Savannah State
1 p.m. (girls) – Monroe vs. Hebron Christian
3 p.m. (boys) – Sandy Creek vs. Carver-Columbus
5 p.m. (girls) – Wesleyan vs. Carver-Columbus
7 p.m. (boys) – Johnson-Savannah vs. Dougherty
Class 2A
At Georgia College
1 p.m. (girls) – Central-Macon vs. Josey
3 p.m. (boys) – Butler vs. Toombs County
5 p.m. (girls) – Murray County vs. Mount Paran Christian
7 p.m. (boys) – Westside-Augusta vs. Columbia
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