Class AAAAAAA
- McEachern (20-2)
- Norcross (19-3)
- Newton (20-3)
- Pebblebrook (19-2)
- Peachtree Ridge (18-4)
- Mountain View (18-4)
- Meadowcreek (15-5)
- Duluth (16-6)
- Wheeler (15-6)
- Grayson (16-5)
Class AAAAAA
- Gainesville (16-6)
- Langston Hughes (19-5)
- Tri-Cities (17-5)
- Stephenson (15-5)
- Douglas County (16-5)
- Jonesboro (15-7)
- Bradwell Institute (16-6)
- Brunswick (19-3)
- Cambridge (20-1)
- Coffee (14-7)
Class AAAAA
- Buford (19-4)
- Warner Robins (19-3)
- Miller Grove (16-6)
- Columbia (16-7)
- Eagle’s Landing (17-5)
- Stockbridge (18-5)
- Lithonia (16-5)
- Statesboro (18-4)
- Clarke Central (17-5)
- Woodland-Stockbridge (16-5)
Class AAAA
- Upson-Lee (22-0)
- St. Pius X (20-3)
- Americus-Sumter (20-2)
- Sandy Creek (17-5)
- Mary Persons (21-2)
- Westover (17-5)
- Baldwin (17-6)
- Salem (16-5)
- Carver-Columbus (18-6)
- Cartersville (16-4)
Class AAA
- Morgan County (22-1)
- Johnson-Savannah (19-2)
- Greater Atlanta Christian (19-3)
- Jenkins (18-4)
- Cedar Grove (15-6)
- Central-Macon (16-5)
- Pierce County (16-6)
- Long County (15-8)
- Windsor Forest (14-8)
- Westside-Macon (14-9)
Class AA
- Glenn Hills (20-1)
- Dublin (18-2)
- South Atlanta (18-2)
- Swainsboro (18-3)
- Laney (19-3)
- Thomasville (19-3)
- Therrell (13-7)
- Elbert County (19-3)
- Jeff Davis (16-7)
- Banks County (19-4)
Class A-Private
- St. Francis (20-2)
- Aquinas (19-3)
- Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (19-3)
- Stratford Academy (16-4)
- Lakeview Academy (17-6)
- North Cobb Christian (18-5)
- Holy Innocents’ (12-7)
- Mt. Vernon Presbyterian (16-6)
- Greenforest (11-10)
- Christian Heritage (19-2)
Class A-Public
- Manchester (20-0)
- Woodville-Tompkins (20-2)
- Calhoun County (20-2)
- Montgomery County (18-3)
- Central-Talbotton (17-3)
- Wilkinson County (16-6)
- Lanier County (20-3)
- Macon County (17-4)
- Pelham (18-4)
- Terrell County (16-6)
The contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders as we enter our final full week of regular season basketball before the region tournaments tip-off. In Class AAAAAAA, four-star wing Charles Smith IV has made an immediate impact for No. 1 McEachern. It took a buzzer-beating three from Kyle Sturdivant for No. 2 Norcross to beat a Jamir Chaplin-less No. 7 Meadowcreek 64-63. There was more madness in Region 6 as Collins Hill (18-4) falls out of the Top 10 after having their win over Discovery on January 20 overturned and replayed, losing 45-44. The Eagles bounced back and beat the Titans 61-49, but lost to No. 6 Mountain View 60-57. The Bears also beat No. 5 Peachtree Ridge 56-48 before losing in the Lions’ Den 68-57. Sandwiched in between their duels with the Bears, Peachtree Ridge beat Shiloh 49-44. Those same Generals beat No. 10 Grayson 54-53 following the Rams loss to No. 3 Newton 71-69, dropping Grayson five spots. Returning to the poll is No. 9 Wheeler. The Wildcats won at Westlake 54-49 and now play No. 4 Pebblebrook at the Cobb Civic Center on Friday night.
Class AAAAAA No. 1 Gainesville steamrolled Lanier 74-43. Unranked Mays played role of spoiler this week, beating No. 5 Douglas County 67-55 and nearly upsetting No. 2 Langston Hughes, 42-40. No. 3 Tri-Cities is up a spot after handling their business, beating Alexander on Senior Night 55-49 and dumping Westlake 66-55. No. 4 Stephenson climbs two spots following their 51-49 win against Tucker and a 54-51 victory over Southwest DeKalb. No. 6 Jonesboro is also on the move after beating Tucker 53-44. No. 7 Bradwell Institute lost 68-57 at Effingham County, the Rebels’ first Region 2 win of the year. No. 8 Brunswick tumbles three more spots. The Pirates rallied yet again to beat Glynn Academy 60-56 after trailing 40-28 entering the fourth, but ran out of magic against Liberty County, getting blown out 86-69. No. 9 Cambridge held off a plucky North Atlanta team in overtime 63-62 to remain perfect in Region 7. Even with their 64-59 loss on Senior Night to Tift County, No. 10 Coffee retains their Top 10 ranking. The Trojans passed the eye-test, with athletes all over the floor. 2019 6-foot-7 lefty Mackenzie McFatten dominated the smaller Blue Devils with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks. All-State guard Jayce Moore was held to 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Tift County’s unsigned senior guard Montae Terrell stole the show with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
No. 1 Buford were road warriors this week in Class AAAAA, winning at Flowery Branch 60-46 and edging newly ranked No. 9 Clarke Central 81-73. No. 3 Miller Grove sent Southwest DeKalb (14-9) out of the poll with a heart-breaking 35-34 loss. No. 4 Columbia skyrockets five spots after drilling No. 7 Lithonia on the road 59-39 and going 3-0 to win the Alaska Airlines Classic Championship. No. 6 Stockbridge climbs four spots after the mayhem ahead of them and beating Class 4A No. 8 Salem 63-54. All the talk about Villa Rica (18-1) and Maynard Jackson (20-2) playing weak schedules came to roost as both teams are out of the polls after suffering losses. Villa Rica lost at Hiram 63-57, while Riverwood bounced the Jaguars 77-69. No. 8 Statesboro and No. 10 Woodland-Stockbridge replace them. Woodland hosts No. 5 Eagle’s Landing on Tuesday.
In Class AAAA, No. 2 St. Pius X and No. 5 Mary Persons survived scares against lesser opponents, the Golden Lions escaping Madison County 63-57 and the Bulldogs leaving Howard with a 76-69 win. No. 7 Baldwin sinks three spots after their 60-57 loss to Burke County. No. 8 Salem is down three spots following a 63-54 loss to Class 5A No. 6 Stockbridge. No. 4 Sandy Creek is starting to put it all together, crushing No. 10 Cartersville 78-52 and LaGrange 67-45, to leap five spots. The Hurricanes are down three positions as they were also upset at Troup County 65-62. No. 6 Westover rises two slots after beating returnee No. 9 Carver-Columbus 68-63. The Tigers bounced back with an 81-41 shellacking of Northside-Columbus. Out of the poll is Woodward Academy (14-7). The War Eagles lost at Eastside 60-47 and at Henry County 56-49.
Down in Savannah, No. 2 Johnson-Savannah took the season lead on No. 4 Jenkins with a 67-60 win in Class AAA, jumping the Warriors in the poll. No. 3 GAC cracks the Top 3 after beating East Hall 64-51 and overwhelming Dawson County 67-33. No. 5 Cedar Grove sent Towers (13-7) packing as the Saints beat the Titans 70-59. Towers also lost 62-48 to Redan after beating them 73-56 earlier in the week. No. 6 Central-Macon moves up four spots thanks to a 61-56 win over No. 10 Westside-Macon. No. 7 Pierce County cracks to Top 10 with an 88-82 overtime win against No. 8 Long County. No. 9 Windsor Forest is down three spots after losing 84-83 at Islands.
No. 2 Dublin has a stiff test in Class AA as they host Washington County, who beat them 73-72 in their first meeting. The Irish are coming off wins at Northeast-Macon 76-66 and at Bleckley County 65-59. No. 4 Swainsboro knocked off returnee No. 9 Jeff Davis 73-56 and got revenge against Effingham County who beat them to open the season 65-57, by stopping the Rebels 78-66. The Yellow Jackets of Jeff Davis are back in the poll after taking out Vidalia (16-7) at home, 57-49. No. 8 Elbert County defeated No. 10 Banks County 61-56.
Class A-Private saw No. 9 Greenforest, back from the grave, shock No. 3 ELCA 69-56 behind Christian Jackson’s 26 points and Jaylyn Clark’s 17. In Region 6A, No. 6 North Cobb Christian avoided a major letdown, outlasting Bowdon 68-67 in overtime. No. 10 Christian Heritage wasn’t as lucky, falling 52-49 at Trion and slipping three spots. No. 8 Mt. Vernon Presbyterian beat Galloway 66-32 and thumped WD Mohammed 71-28, shooting the Caliphs out of the rankings. WD Mohammed also lost in overtime to Paideia 48-45. The Mustangs now travel to a vocal No. 7 Holy Innocents’ on Tuesday.
In Class A-Public, No. 4 Montgomery County hammered rival Treutlen 85-60 at Brewton-Parker. No. 7 Lanier County sinks two spots after a 61-50 loss at Clinch County. No. 6 Wilkinson County has owned No. 8 Macon County over the past two years, stabbing the Bulldogs again with a painful 75-74 overtime loss, dropping Macon County two spots and rising the Warriors three positions. Wilcox County (17-5) exits the Top 10 after a 78-77 loss at Dooly County. No. 10 Terrell County gets their first crack at the rankings.