Twelve of the 16 teams still playing in the Class 3A state basketball playoffs were ranked in the AJC’s top-10 when the tournament began, and they now carry their hopes into the quarterfinals.
Two unranked boys teams and two unranked girls teams have crashed the party.
The Hart County and Johnson-Savannah boys and the Morgan County and Hart County girls have hit their strides at the right time. Hart’s boys moved past Carver-Atlanta (81-45) and Pickens (64-62) while the girls have beaten Douglass (64-44) and Dawson County (48-40). The Johnson-Savannah boys have beaten Jackson (76-50) and Cross Creek (61-56) while Morgan’s girls have victories over Dougherty (49-41) and Calvary Day (46-37).
The Hart and Johnson boys will play at home in the quarterfinals. The Morgan County and Hart County girls will have to win on the road.
Boys
-- Top-ranked Sandy Creek will play host No. 3 Monroe in a state-championship caliber matchup. The Patriots have not been challenged since their 50-49 loss against Etowah on Feb. 3. Since, Sandy Creek has beaten Carver-Atlanta 74-20, Cedar Grove 84-45, Stephens County 97-42 and Lumpkin County 92-22. Monroe earned its quarterfinals berth beating Harlem 47-39 and Calvary Day 61-41.
-- No. 2 Dougherty earned the Region 1 championship, beating No. 3 Monroe 70-65 in double-overtime and will play host to No. 6 Douglass in the quarters. The Trojans have beaten Salem 96-81 and Upson-Lee 73-57 to advance; while Douglass is alive after victories against Monroe Area (67-44) and Dawson County (79-42).
-- Hart County, the Region 8 No. 1 seed, went 6-4 through a difficult region, but has won six consecutive games, including playoff victories against Carver-Atlanta (81-45) and Pickens (64-62). On Feb. 16, the Bulldogs beat No. 7 Hebron Christian 59-53 in the Region 8 championship game to secure the title.
Hart will play at home against No. 8 Carver-Columbus
-- Hebron’s Lions will travel to Region 3 No. 2 Johnson-Savannah after beating Cedar Grove 55-49 and Gilmer 63-59. Johnson beat Jackson 76-50 and Cross Creek 61-56 in the first two rounds.
Girls
--The 2024 bracket allows for a possible state championship matchup against No. 1 Hebron and No. 2 Wesleyan, which was a semifinal game last season. Both teams arguably are the best in the class, making a matchup in finals in Macon a solid possibility.
But that’s two rounds away.
In the quarters, top-ranked Hebron Christian will play host to an unranked Morgan County team, and No. 3 Carver-Columbus will host Region 8 No. 3-seed Hart County. The other matchups are ranked vs. ranked with No. 2 Wesleyan traveling to No. 4 Cross Creek and No. 6 White County traveling to No. 8 Monroe.
Class 3A boys quarterfinals schedule
R1 #2 No. 3 Monroe at R5 #1 No. 1 Sandy Creek
R1 #2 No. 8 Carver-Columbus at R8 #1 Hart County
R8 #2 No. 7 Hebron Christian at R3 #2 Johnson-Savannah
R5 #2 No. 6 Douglass at R1 #1 No. 2 Dougherty
Class 3A girls quarterfinals schedule
R7 #3 No. 6 White County at R1 #2 No. 8 Monroe
R4 #2 Morgan County at R8 #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian
R7 #1 No. 2 Wesleyan at R4 #1 No. 4 Cross Creek
R8 #3 Hart County at R1 #1 No. 3 Carver-Columbus
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