After running through the first round 80-0 last season, top-five teams lost seven times this week in the state basketball tournament.
More wreckage awaits Friday and Saturday with 29 games between ranked teams in the rounds of 16. Five involve No. 1 teams.
Surprisingly eliminated already are Shiloh and Lee County, the second- and third-ranked boys teams from Class 6A.
Historically still playing are Oglethorpe County’s boys and Portal’s girls.
Oglethorpe County, an Athens-area school established 100 years ago, advanced in a state tournament for the first time with a 62-57 victory over Elbert County in Class A Division I. Oglethorpe County’s coach is former Georgia football and basketball player Larry Brown, who took over in 2021.
Portal of southeast Georgia won for the first time since 1948 with a 51-40 victory over Turner County in Class A Division II.
“Last night’s win was a huge accomplishment for our girls, our coaches, our school and our community,’’ said first-year coach Nicole Newton, a former Georgia Southern player. “It speaks volumes to all of the hard work these young ladies have put in this season.’’
Game schedule and brackets: Georgia boys teams | Georgia girls teams | Combined schedule
Here is look at the tournament’s second round and some events that shaped it.
Teams to beat: No. 1-ranked teams got through the first round 16-0. The No. 1 boys teams are Grayson (7A), Alexander (6A), Kell (5A), McDonough (4A), Sandy Creek (3A), Westside-Augusta (2A), Mount Vernon (A Division I) and Greenforest Christian (A Division II). The No. 1 girls teams are Grayson (7A), River Ridge (6A), Union Grove (5A), Baldwin (4A), Hebron Christian (3A), Mount Paran Christian (2A), St. Francis (A Division I) and Greenforest (A Division II). Baldwin and Hebron won their first-round games 84-5 and 89-12, respectively.
Headliners: The most anticipated second-round games are No. 4 Newton at No. 2 McEachern (7A boys), No. 2 Pace Academy at No. 4 Holy Innocents’ (4A boys), No. 2 Thomson at No. 4 Toombs County (2A boys) and No. 5 Pickens at No. 1 Hebron Christian (3A girls). In addition to Hebron, the No. 1 teams facing ranked opponents are Kell’s boys (vs. No. 6 Chapel Hill), Grayson’s girls (vs. No. 8 McEachern), River Ridge’s girls (vs. No. 6 New Manchester) and Baldwin’s girls (vs. No. 10 Trinity Christian), all at home.
Gone: Eighteen of the 160 top-10 teams are out. Class 6A boys took the biggest hits as No. 2 Shiloh (losing to Douglas County), No. 3 Lee County (to Riverwood), No. 6 Etowah (to Alpharetta) were eliminated. The other top-five teams that failed to make it through were No. 4 Cedar Grove’s boys (lost to Hebron Christian in 3A), No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins’ boys (lost to No. 10 Bleckley County in A Division I), No. 5 St. Francis’ boys (lost to No. 3 Darlington in A Division I), No. 4 Thomson’s girls (lost to Sumter County in 2A) and No. 5 Oglethorpe County’s girls (lost to Elbert County in A Division I).
History-makers: Oglethorpe and Portal broke the longest droughts, but others made similar news. Gilmer’s boys, ranked 10th in Class 3A, beat Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 70-44 to advance for the first time since 1958. North Springs’ boys won for the first time since 1970 with a 78-48 victory over a 5A region champion, Cartersville. Girls teams from Lakeside-Evans (opened 1988) and South Paulding (2006) and the boys team from Seckinger (2022) had never advanced until this year.
What’s next: The quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday. That will be the first round in which same-seeded teams can meet. The GHSA will decide home teams with a universal coin toss Thursday afternoon.
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