Here are Class 7A standings for boys basketball with commentary on where things might be headed in each region with less than two weeks left in the regular season.
In the latest news, No 8 Newton beat No. 2 Grayson on Tuesday night while No. 1 Wheeler beat No. 9 Cherokee in games top-10 teams.
Region tournaments determine seeds for the state tournament, which begins Feb. 21. The GHSA brackets show that the first round will pair regions 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6 and 7 vs 8.
Region 1: Good race here, though none of the teams is ranked or seriously viewed as a threat statewide. Valdosta beat Camden County 77-62 on Friday to forge a tie for first place that might remain until the tournament as the two don’t meet again in the regular season. Valdosta also beat Lowndes 62-48 on Saturday. But Lowndes remains alive and plays at Valdosta on Saturday and home against Camden on Feb. 3. Lowndes and Valdosta, both better known for their football programs, each won basketball region titles last season - Lowndes in 7A, Valdosta in 6A. Camden won a basketball region title in 2020.
Region 2: Last week was a big one for Pebblebrook, which took control of the region race with a 57-47 victory over Carrollton on Friday, then beat defending Class 7A champion and then-No. 2 Norcross 69-57 in a non-region game. The Falcons will be heavily favored to finish as the No. 1 seed in this region. Four of their six losses have come against out-of-state teams, and they have made the state semifinals the past two seasons. But there’s not a weak team in the region.
Region 3: Front-running McEachern beat Orlando’s Oak Ridge, one of the top 20 teams overall in Florida, 85-80 on Saturday. Four of McEachern’s six losses are against out-of-state teams. The others are to Pebblebrook by one and Kell by five. The region race shouldn’t be difficult. McEachern’s closest region game was a 68-57 decision Jan. 10 against Hillgrove. The two Power Springs neighbors meet again Friday.
Region 4: Newton beat Grayson 54-43 on Tuesday night to redeem itself from a tough previous week and make of race of things in what is most decidedly Class 7A’s toughest region. Newton last week lost to IMG Academy (no surprise) and Parkview (big surprise) and fell in the rankings to No. 8, but that proved to be premature. South Gwinnett and Archer have been ranked this season, too. Newton made the semifinals last season. Grayson made the quarterfinals and was the state runner-up in 2020.
Region 5: Wheeler defended its No. 1 ranking and first-place standing in the region Tuesday with a 69-60 victory over Cherokee, but Cherokee also showed it is a top-10 team in its own right. Wheeler plays at home Friday against North Cobb, another tough team that lost only 58-54 to the Wildcats on Jan. 10. All of Wheeler’s losses have come to out-of-state teams, but the region isn’t lay down for the Wildcats, either.
Region 6: Milton plays at Denmark on Wednesday night for the region lead. [Update: Denmark won 58-55.] Milton, a three-time former state champion that last won in 2021, was heavily favored to take this region, but Milton also lost Jan. 8 at Lambert. And Lambert beat Denmark on Friday, meaning the third-place team here had beaten the two leaders. Milton gets its Lambert rematch on Friday. That’s Milton’s only in-state loss. Milton’s best win is against Pebblebrook.
Region 7: Runaway favorite Norcross lost a non-region game last week to Pebblebrook 69-57, the Blue Devils’ only in-state loss, but the region appears safe. Norcross beat its arch-rival, Berkmar, 87-59 on Tuesday and holds a two-game edge in the standings with three games to go.
Region 8: Buford beat a good Mountain View team 86-79 on Tuesday to help ensure it will be a two-team race down the stretch. Collins Hill beat Buford in their only meeting Jan. 17. They play again Feb. 3 at Buford. Buford was the Class 6A runner-up last season. This is the Wolves’ first campaign in the highest classification.
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