Upsets few and far between as favorites rule first round

Only four top-10 girls teams didn’t make it out of the first round of the state basketball tournament last week, and home teams were 90-22.

Something’s got to give, and there are 22 games between top-10 teams to make that happen in the second round, which will be played today and Thursday on the home courts of the higher-seeded teams.

Here’s a look back at round one and a look ahead to round two:

Upsets

There weren’t many, but the most unexpected was Mill Creek’s 51-44 victory over seventh-ranked Brookwood, the Region 7-AAAAAAA champion.

Mill Creek (17-9) was the Region 6 regular-season runner-up but lost twice in the region tournament and wound up the fourth seed. That’s dangerous for sure, but Brookwood had been 11-0 since New Year’s Day and won its first region title since 2011.

Other ranked teams to lose were No. 8 North Cobb in AAAAAAA (beaten by Pebblebrook), No. 7 Douglas County in AAAAAA (beaten by Dacula) and No. 10 Wash- ington County in AA (beaten by No. 8 Bryan Count y). Also worth noting is Morgan County’s victory over unranked Kendrick, the Region 4-AAA champion. Region 4 would’ve advanced all four of its teams, but the champion was ousted by the 32nd qualifier.

First-time advancers

Rockmart opened in 1912. The first state basketball tournament for Georgia girls was held in 1945. Rockmart’s girls won their first state-tournament game on Friday night.

It was a little anti-climactic as the Yellow Jackets, the champions of 7-AA, defeated Washington 74-48. Rockmart (19-6) will have a second-round home game against Elbert County. Other teams winning their firstever state-playoff games in the first round were New Manchester (AAAAAA), Heritage-Ringgold (AAAA) and Tallulah Falls (A private).

Drought-breakers

Dacula’s girls had lost in the first round each of the past four seasons and hadn’t advanced in the state play- offs since 2004, and they weren’t favored to win this one — a road game at No. 7 Douglas County. But Dacula got through with a 60-55 victory and now gets a shot at No. 10 Harrison for a berth in the quarterfinals.

Others winning for the first time in more than 10 years were Cass (1994), Chattooga (1988), Glynn Academy (2008) and Jones County (2006).

Region sweeps

Only one region got all four of its teams into the second round. Region 7-AAAA (Villa Rica, Carrollton, Rome, Cass) swept 6-AAAA (Riverwood, Maynard Jackson, Decatur, Lithia Springs).

Best 2nd-round game

Jefferson, a quarterfinal- ist in AAAA the past two seasons, dropped down in class this academic year and is 24-3 and ranked No. 2. But the Dragons’ 10-game win- ning streak ended in the final of the Region 8-AAA tournament against Hart County, a team they had beaten three previous times. That conspired to put Jefferson on the road at No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian, the reigning AAA runner-up. GAC is 17-11.

Other games to watch

Other round-of-16 games match top-10 teams, three involving No. 1-ranked teams (Buford, Fitzgerald, Holy Innocents’): No. 10 Nor- cross at No. 3 Grayson in AAAAAAA; No. 9 Stephen- son at No. 6 Glynn Academy in AAAAAA; No. 6 Veterans at No. 7 Statesboro, No. 8 Carrollton at No. 1 Buford and No. 9 Arabia Mountain at No. 2 Villa Rica in AAAAA; No. 8 Luella at No. 9 Baldwin and No. 10 Northwest Whit- field at No. 6 Sandy Creek in AAAA; No. 8 Peach County at No. 6 Tattnall County and No. 7 North Hall at No. 3 Hart County in AAA; No. 9 Swainsboro at No. 4 Laney, No. 5 Early County at No. 7 Woodville-Tompkins and No. 8 Bryan County at No. 1 Fitzgerald in AA; No. 10 Greenforest Christian at No. 1 Holy Innocents’ and No. 9 Paideia at No. 8 Eagle’s Land- ing Christian in A-private; and No. 10 Central-Talbot- ton at No. 6 Georgia Military and No. 7 Mitchell County at No. 9 Clinch County in A-public.

What’s next?

The state basketball tournament will enter the quarterfinals next week, and that marks the first round in which region champions and same-seeded teams can face each other.

A universal coin flip conducted by the GHSA on Tuesday came up tails, meaning that teams positioned lower on the brackets will be at home. In other cases, the higher-seeded team will be at home.

The coin flip means that five No. 1-ranked girls teams could be on the road next week. Those would be Westlake at No. 3 Grayson in AAAAAAA, Lovejoy at No. 3 Northview in AAAAAA, Carver-Columbus at No. 7 Heritage-Ringgold in AAAA, Beach at unranked Lovett in AAA and Fitzgerald at No. 6 Douglass in AA.

Only two No. 1 boys teams might be traveling. Those would be Upson-Lee in AAAA to No. 3 St. Pius in AAAA and Woodville-Tompkins to No. 5 Elbert County in AA.

The quarterfinals are Feb. 26-27. The semifinals will be March 2 on neutral courts, and the finals are March 6-9 in Macon.

CONTRIBUTED BY STEVE SCHAEFER Pebblebrook players celebrate after their first-round upset of No. 8-ranked North Cobb at the AAAAAAA girls high school basketball tournament in Kennesaw on Friday. Pebblebrook next plays Cherokee in the second round.