No. 1-ranked boys teams from Woodward Academy and Cedar Grove face quality top-10 opponents this week while Pickens, a rare Georgia basketball program with boys and girls teams ranked in the top three, can move toward region titles with victories over top-10 opponents.
Here are this week’s top 10 basketball games around the state.
Tuesday
Douglass at Cedar Grove (boys): Cedar Grove, led by top-75 national junior prospect Manny Green, is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A. The Saints’ losses have been to Grayson and Wheeler, the top two teams in Class 6A, and one out-of-state team. Region 5 rival Douglass (13-5, 7-2) is a worthy challenger. Cedar Grove prevailed 59-51 at Douglass in their first meeting as Green scored 19 points with nine rebounds. Cedar Grove is chasing its first state title since 1997.
Pickens at Greater Atlanta Christian (boys): Second-ranked Pickens of Class 2A is 20-0 and the only unbeaten boys team in any class. The boys won their first state-playoff game in 24 years last season. Pickens is led by twins Dodge Davis and Parker Davis, both 6 feet, 7 inches. Greater Atlanta Christian (15-5, 7-2) is ranked No. 5 in Class 3A-A private. Pickens won the first meeting between the two 87-60. GAC is at home this time.
Tucker at Southwest DeKalb (boys): Two of DeKalb County’s best teams play for first place in Region 5-4A. Southwest DeKalb (18-2) is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A. Tucker (16-4) is No. 6. Both are 10-1 in region play. Tucker beat Southwest DeKalb 59-51 at Tucker on Dec. 13, but Southwest DeKalb has been a little more consistent. Southwest DeKalb also faces No. 10 St. Pius (14-4, 9-2) at home Saturday and might need a sweep to guarantee the No. 1 seed for the region tournament.
Woodward Academy at Tri-Cities (girls): Third-ranked Woodward Academy (14-5, 9-0) and No. 5 Tri-Cities (15-2, 8-0) are the two remaining unbeaten teams in Region 4-5A play, and they’ll meet twice in a seven-day stretch to settle first place in the regular season. Woodward Academy has won seven consecutive games since a four-game losing streak in late December. Tri-Cities has won 13 consecutive since starting the season 2-2, with losses to Class 4A No. 2 Marist and Class 3A No. 5 Sandy Creek.
Woodward Academy at Tri-Cities (boys): These highly ranked Class 5A boys teams will play Tuesday and Monday to decide the regular-season title in Region 4. Woodward Academy (17-3, 9-0) is ranked No. 1 and needing a signature win to hold that ranking over preseason favorite and second-ranked Milton. Tri-Cities (15-4, 8-0) is ranked No. 4. Five players in this game made last week’s Atlanta Tipoff Club’s list of 40 best boys midseason performers. They are Woodward’s Zac Foster, Deke Foster and Jarvis Hayes Jr. and Tri-Cities’ Sean Van Dorn and Jalan Wingfield.
Friday
White County at Pickens (girls): Sixth-ranked White County (16-4, 8-1) and No. 3 Pickens (18-2, 9-1) are the top two teams in 6-3A, a competitive region that also includes Chestatee, Dawson County and Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 9 team in 3A-A private. Pickens holds the lead by virtue of its 50-46 victory at White County on Jan. 3. White County has won five consecutive games since. Pickens’ only region loss was against Dawson County, 53-46 on Jan. 14.
Saturday
Columbia at South Atlanta (boys): This is a rematch of their Jan. 14 game that Columbia won 55-51 in overtime. Columbia (16-3, 5-0) is ranked No. 3 in Class 2A. South Atlanta (14-6, 4-1) is No. 4. Both are perennial state contenders. Columbia, a five-time former champion, has reached the 2A semifinals the past two seasons. South Atlanta has made the quarterfinals 11 of the past 13 seasons, with two state titles.
Baldwin at Washington County (girls): Reigning state champion Baldwin fell out of the No. 1 spot in Class 3A after suffering three losses last week, the third of which came against Class A Division I No. 3 Washington County, 54-51 in double overtime Saturday. The Braves (13-6, 10-1) are tied for first place in Region 4-3A with Cross Creek (12-8, 10-1), which lost to Baldwin 63-29 in December. Those two teams will meet again Feb. 6 in a game that likely will decide the regular-season region title.
Fayette County at Sandy Creek (girls): Fayette County (13-4, 9-0), which moved to No. 1 in Class 3A this week, will play almost half of its Region 2 schedule in the final two weeks of the regular season but can take a big step toward locking down first place with a victory against its top challenger, fifth-ranked Sandy Creek (15-4, 9-2). Fayette County won the first game between these two 65-62 on Jan. 18. Troup and Trinity Christian also have two region losses, but Fayette County beat both teams handily in early January.
Morrow at Hughes (girls): Hughes (18-2, 9-0) lost to No. 2 in the Class 5A rankings after a 54-52 loss to Class 6A No. 4 Carrollton on Saturday, but the Panthers remain unbeaten in Region 3-5A. They are a half-game ahead of sixth-ranked Morrow (16-4, 9-1), which suffered its only region loss to Hughes, 80-49 on Dec. 3. The Mustangs’ only loss since was a 62-55 game against Class 3A-A private No. 1 Hebron Christian on Dec. 14. Every other team in the region has at least four region losses.
