A trip to Macon for the GHSA state basketball championships is just around the corner, and after each of the eight regions in the Class 3A placed four teams into the tournament, there’s a lot to break down.
Let’s take a bullet-by-bullet look at the first round of the GHSA basketball playoffs.
Toughest quadrant(s)
-- Boys: Top-ranked and defending-champion Sandy Creek is a clear favorite entering the tournament and adds weight to the top-left quadrant where the Patriots will open against Stephens County. Also in the quadrant is No. 3 Monroe, which will play Harlem in the first round. But the top-right quadrant also features talented and ranked opponents such as No. 4 Cedar Grove, which will travel to No. 7 Hebron Christian for a rare first-round meeting between ranked teams.
-- Girls: Where’s defending-champion Hebron? Bottom-left quadrant? That one. The Lions are also joined by No. 5 Pickens in the quadrant. If Hebron wins against Cedar Grove and Pickens beats Coahulla Creek, the two will meet in the second round. Also, No. 2 Wesleyan and No. 4 Cross Creek help populate the top-right quadrant, which is a tough out. The ranked teams in the top-right will not meet until the quarterfinals, if each wins out.
Best first-round matchup
Boys: No. 4 Cedar Grove will travel to No. 7 Hebron Christian. Cedar Grove faced a rough ending to the regular season with losses to No. 6 Douglass (45-43) and top-ranked Sandy Creek 84-45 in the Region 5 tournament. But the Saints will have a chance to extend the season with a rebound victory on the road against a ranked team in the playoffs. Hebron also lost in the team’s final regular-season game, against Hart County (59-53) in the Region 8 championship game.
Girls: Region 6 No. 3 seed Coahulla Creek will travel to the Region 7 No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Pickens. Coahulla Creek (18-8, 11-3) won a lot, but the strength of schedule has kept the Colts from the top 10. Pickens lost to No. 2 Wesleyan 64-54 in the Region 7 tournament to end the regular season.
Notable
On the boys side, No. 10 Gilmer hosts Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe after winning the program’s first region title in school history. It has been 66 years since Gilmer won a playoff game. The Bobcats are 17-8, 10-2 and beat Pickens 74-71 in the Region 7 title game.
Boys 3A top-10
1. Sandy Creek
2. Dougherty
3. Monroe
4. Cedar Grove
5. Cross Creek
6. Douglass
7. Hebron Christian
8. Carver-Columbus
9. Richmond Academy
10. Gilmer
Class 3A boys first-round schedule
R4 #3 Harlem at R1 #2 No. 3 Monroe
R3 #4 Calvary Day at R2 #1 Peach County
R7 #3 Lumpkin County at R6 #2 Ridgeland
R8 #4 Stephens County at R5 #1 No. 1 Sandy Creek
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R1 #3 No. 8 Carver-Columbus at R4 #2 No. 9 Richmond Academy
R2 #4 Mary Persons at R3 #1 Savannah Country Day
R6 #3 Coahulla Creek at R7 #2 Pickens
R5 #4 Carver-Atlanta at R8 #1 Hart County
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R5 #3 No. 4 Cedar Grove at R8 #2 No. 7 Hebron Christian
R6 #4 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at R7 #1 No. 10 Gilmer
R2 #3 Jackson at R3 #2 Johnson-Savannah
R1 #4 Columbus at R4 #1 No. 5 Cross Creek
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R8 #3 Monroe Area at R5 #2 No. 6 Douglass
R7 #4 Dawson County at R6 #1 Adairsville
R3 #3 Long County at R2 #2 Upson-Lee
R4 #4 Salem at R1 #1 No. 2 Dougherty
Girls 3A top-10
1. Hebron Christian
2. Wesleyan
3. Carver-Columbus
4. Cross Creek
5. Pickens
6. White County
7. Dawson County
8. Monroe
9. Oconee County
10. Mary Persons
Class 3A girls first-round schedule
R4 #3 Richmond Academy at R1 #2 No. 8 Monroe
R3 #4 Liberty County at R2 #1 No. 10 Mary Persons
R7 #3 No. 6 White County at R6 #2 Ringgold
R8 #4 Franklin County at R5 #1 Carver-Atlanta
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R1 #3 Dougherty at R4 #2 Morgan County
R2 #4 Pike County at R3 #1 Calvary Day
R6 #3 Coahulla Creek at R7 #2 No. 5 Pickens
R5 #4 Cedar Grove at R8 #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian
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R5 #3 Sandy Creek at R8 #2 Oconee County
R6 #4 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at R7 #1 No. 2 Wesleyan
R2 #3 Upson-Lee at R3 #2 Savannah Country Day
R1 #4 Thomasville at R4 #1 No. 4 Cross Creek
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R8 #3 Hart County at R5 #2 Douglass
R7 #4 No. 7 Dawson County at R6 #1 Adairsville
R3 #3 Beach at R2 #2 Peach County
R4 #4 Harlem at R1 #1 No. 3 Carver-Columbus
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