Wheeler and Mount Bethel Christian, a pair of East Cobb schools about 4.5 miles apart, lost boys basketball games last week but maintained their No. 1 rankings entering Monday, a holiday that will test several of the state’s elite teams.
Wheeler, a Class 7A team led by five-star point guard Isaiah Collier, has lost only to out-of-state opponents, including Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on Saturday at a tournament in Springfield, Mass. Wheeler is 4-0 in state. Georgia teams are all that’s left on the Wildcats’ schedule now. It includes games against No. 10 Cherokee on Jan. 24 and Feb. 10 and one against No. 6 Newton next month.
Mount Bethel, a Class A Division I team, lost to No. 6 Paideia 46-43 on Friday and is 13-5 but still leads a classification that saw seven of its top-10 teams lose last week. Mount Bethel has wins over Class 6A top-10 teams Woodward Academy and Blessed Trinity. Most of the top Division I teams, including Mount Bethel’s Region 6 rivals Mount Pisgah, King’s Ridge and Mount Vernon, have taken turns beating each other.
Alexander remained No. 1 in 6A. Its only in-state loss is against No. 3 Grayson of 7A. The Cougars will play Alabama’s No. 2 overall team, per MaxPreps, on Monday in Alabaster, Ala. Georgia’s No. 2 Class 7A team, Norcross, also is playing there against host Thompson.
The No. 1 Class 5A team, Eagle’s Landing (18-0), will play No. 1 Greenforest Christian of Class A Division II on Monday at Smyrna’s Campbell High as part of the MLK Dream Challenge. No. 1 Sandy Creek of 3A also is at Campbell, playing No. 2 McDonough of 4A.
Pace Academy, the No. 1 team in 4A, is coming off a 62-55 victory over Chaminade Julienne, the No. 6 team in Ohio, at the Flyin’ to the Hoop tournament Saturday in Kettering, Ohio.
Westside-Augusta remained No. 1 in 2A, although No. 2 Columbia closed the gap by avenging its only loss, to No. 3 Southwest DeKalb of 4A, last week.
Class 7A
1. Wheeler (9-6)
2. Norcross (14-2)
3. Grayson (11-3)
4. McEachern (10-6)
5. Pebblebrook (11-6)
6. Newton (11-6)
7. Archer (12-3)
8. Milton (14-3)
9. Buford (13-4)
10. Cherokee (14-2)
Class 6A
1. Alexander (13-3)
2. Marist (12-5)
3. St. Pius (12-5)
4. Jonesboro (13-3)
5. Etowah (11-7)
6. South Paulding (14-4)
7. Woodward Academy (13-3)
8. Blessed Trinity (14-4)
9. Hughes (8-7)
10. Grovetown (8-8)
Class 5A
1. Eagle’s Landing (18-0)
2. Kell (14-2)
3. Hiram (13-2)
4. Mays (11-4)
5. Dutchtown (12-6)
6. Jones County (13-3)
7. Tri-Cities (8-7)
8. Chapel Hill (9-5)
9. Eastside (14-2)
10. Tucker (12-5)
Class 4A
1. Pace Academy (12-4)
2. McDonough (14-2)
3. Southwest DeKalb (12-2)
4. Fayette County (11-3)
5. Madison County (17-2)
6. Bainbridge (17-1)
7. North Oconee (15-3)
8. Lovett (10-7)
9. Westover (12-5)
10. LaGrange (13-3)
Class 3A
1. Sandy Creek (14-3)
2. Johnson-Savannah (13-4)
3. Cedar Grove (11-4)
4. Beach (13-2)
5. Monroe Area (13-2)
6. Monroe (11-5)
7. Cross Creek (8-10)
8. Oconee County (12-5)
9. Wesleyan (11-6)
10. Calvary Day (12-4)
Class 2A
1. Westside-Augusta (12-4)
2. Columbia (17-1)
3. Providence Christian (15-2)
4. Thomson (10-2)
5. Spencer (12-4)
6. Putnam County (14-3)
7. Windsor Forest (12-5)
8. North Cobb Christian (13-4)
9. Drew Charter (11-5)
10. Washington (10-6)
Class A Division I
1. Mount Bethel Christian (13-5)
2. Mount Pisgah Christian (14-6)
3. King’s Ridge Christian (11-5)
4. Mount Vernon (12-7)
5. Darlington (15-2)
6. Paideia (6-9)
7. St. Francis (8-10)
8. Social Circle (7-6)
9. Tallulah Falls (13-3)
10. Dublin (12-3)
Class A Division II
1. Greenforest Christian (10-6)
2. Christian Heritage (15-0)
3. Portal (14-1)
4. Mitchell County (16-1)
5. Manchester (12-2)
6. Calhoun County (13-3)
7. Charlton County (14-1)
8. Macon County (15-2)
9. Wilkinson County (10-6)
10. Telfair County (12-2)
