Region Champs Climb In Polls, Eye Playoffs

The playoffs are upon us and a few of the polls became a jumbled mess after some upsets in various region tournaments. The dilemma always seems to be just to punish a team for losing in the region tournament after a very successful regular season. Some will say that the importance should be placed on the region tournament results because that is how the state playoffs are seeded. While I take those results into play, I will not be as harsh as some pollsters when filling out the top 10, completely ignoring the regular season results.

North Cobb won Region 4-AAAAA and thus moved up to No. 2 in the boys AAAAA poll, but Shiloh, Westlake and Tift County, all No. 2 seeds, moved down just one spot apiece. Wheeler is the new No. 6 after claiming a region title. Effingham County and Lovejoy, both No. 3 seeds, also fell from the rankings, in favor of a pair of region champions, Brunswick and Northside-WR. Chattahoochee and Alcovy were the biggest movers in Class AAAA while Carrollton and Walnut Grove each cracked the top three in AAA. Two-time defending Class AA champion GAC is back on top as the Spartans attempt to make it three straight state crowns while the top three in Class A remain unchanged.

Alpharetta and Norcross each moved up after winning their respective region tournaments while North Gwinnett dropped a few pegs after falling in the Region 7-AAAAA girls championship game. Fayette County and Creekview both jumped in the rankings after claiming region championships while Forest Park, Alcovy and Chamblee each dropped a few spots. Miller Grove was also a big mover in the AAAA poll. In AAA, Washington County remains at the top, followed by Columbia and Allatoona. Several teams tumbled out of the poll following poor showings in their region tournaments, Westside-Macon in particular. In Class AA, Heard County and Brooks County appeared in the polls after winning the Region 5 and Region 1 tournaments, respectively. In Class A, Calvary Day assumed the No. 1 spot after Wesleyan fell to new No. 3 St. Francis. Taylor County and Gordon Lee each moved up a few spots.

Boys Basketball Rankings

CLASS AAAAA

1. Milton

2. North Cobb

3. Shiloh

4. Westlake

5. Tift County

6. Wheeler

7. Berkmar

8. Johnson (Savannah)

9. Peachtree Ridge

10. ML King

CLASS AAAA

1. Miller Grove

2. Chattahoochee

3. Alcovy

4. Southwest DeKalb

5. Fayette County

6. North Clayton

7. Jonesboro

8. Douglas County

9. Brunswick

10. Northside-WR

CLASS AAA

1. Columbia

2. Carrollton

3. Walnut Grove

4. Drew

5. Allatoona

6. Eagles Landing

7. North Hall

8. Grady

9. Washington County

10. Thomson

CLASS AA

1. GAC

2. Vidalia

3. Morgan County

4. Albany

5. Jordan

6. Manchester

7. Buford

8. East Hall

9. Thomasville

10. Laney

CLASS A

1. Whitefield Academy

2. North Cobb Christian

3. Wilkinson County

4. Lanier County

5. Athens Christian

6. Taylor County

7. Mt. Pisgah

8. Wilcox County

9. Turner County

10. Landmark Christian

Girls Basketball Poll

CLASS AAAAA

1. McEachern

2. Parkview

3. Alpharetta

4. Norcross

5. Stephenson

6. North Gwinnett

7. Marietta

8. Lowndes

9. Hillgrove

10. Woodstock

CLASS AAAA

1. Fayette County

2. Creekview

3. Miller Grove

4. Alcovy

5. Jonesboro

6. Chamblee

7. Statesboro

8. Warner Robins

9. Forest Park

10. Douglas County

CLASS AAA

1. Washington County

2. Columbia

3. Allatoona

4. Westover

5. St. Pius X

6. Carrollton

7. Cartersville

8. North Hall

9. Westside-Augusta

10. Mary Persons

CLASS AA

1. Morgan County

2. Laney

3. Model

4. Buford

5. East Hall

6. Brooks County

7. Lovett

8. Heard County

9. GAC

10. Rabun County

CLASS A

1. Calvary Day

2. Southwest Atlanta Christian

3. St. Francis

4. Wesleyan

5. Taylor County

6. Gordon Lee

7. Darlington

8. Mitchell County

9. Pelham

10. Wilkinson County