GHSA Class 7A State Playoff Preview
Atlanta, Georgia – The 2018-2019 state playoffs in the state of Georgia are officially underway beginning this Friday and Saturday February 15th and 16th. Georgia’s class 7A is the state’s highest classification and has always been known as the most…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAtlanta, Georgia – The 2018-2019 state playoffs in the state of Georgia are officially underway beginning this Friday and Saturday February 15th and 16th. Georgia’s class 7A is the state’s highest classification and has always been known as the most competitive. Programs like Norcross, Wheeler, McEachern, Shiloh, Newton, Meadowcreek, Pebblebrook, who have all made the playoffs by the way, and others round out the 7A class. Here we take a look and preview the class 7A state playoff bracket and I predict who my final four and champions will be for this season.
Top Left Quadrant (Roswell, Westlake, Norcross, Grayson, Lowndes, Marietta, Mountain View, and Forsyth Central)
The top left quadrant in this season’s class 7A state playoffs might be the most competitive one. The first round matchups include Roswell-Lowndes, Westlake-Marietta, Norcross-Mountain View, and Grayson-Forsyth Central. Grayson and Westlake are the two region champions on this side of the quadrant. Grayson will host Forsyth Central and Westlake will host Marietta and both squads should breeze through their matchups. Once Grayson wins, that should set up a major second round matchup with Norcross, who will host Mountain View this Friday night. The Roswell-Lowndes matchup is up for grabs and Westlake, once they defeat Marietta, should be able to defeat either team and punch their ticket to the elite 8 game for the first time since 2017. In my opinion, whoever wins the Norcross-Grayson matchup in the second will most likely head to the final four in Buford City Arena.
Bottom Left Quadrant (McEachern, Peachtree Ridge, Cherokee, Berkmar, Milton, Archer, Camden, and East Coweta)
You see the team list and we all should know that McEachern, who have been ranked all season long in the top-5 nationally, should win out this part of the quadrant. The Indians are the clear favorite this year for most to capture the class 7A state championship and coming in at 27-0. Their first matchup will be against a 24-3 East Coweta team who were stunned in their region tournament going 0-2, so this could be an interesting matchup. Other first rounders include Peachtree Ridge-Berkmar, Cherokee-Camden County, and Milton-Archer. Peachtree Ridge and Berkmar is the most intriguing matchup in this quadrant in the first round, both programs have been battle tested all year long and I believe whoever wins that matchup and assuming McEachern wins their first two, will face McEachern in the elite 8 game, assuming Peachtree Ridge or Berkmar advances in the second round.
Top Right Quadrant (Etowah, Meadowcreek, Pebblebrook, Duluth, North Paulding, Lambert, Newton, and “at-large”)
The defending class 7A state champions, Meadowcreek, had a battle against their neighborhood rival Norcross to capture their region title and earning a number one seed in the state playoffs. The road on defending their state title will begin with a home game against Duluth and will probably face Newton in that second round matchup, assuming they defeat Lambert again in the first round. The Pebblebrook Falcons finished third in their region and will travel to North Paulding in their first round matchup, a game they should certainly win. For Etowah, it is still undecided who the “at-large” bid will be. Campbell is my favorite due to their strength of schedule and playing in the toughest region in the state, region 2, and finishing over 500 with a 14-12 overall record.
Bottom Right Quadrant (Shiloh, Discovery, Wheeler, Hillgrove, Tift County, West Forsyth, Walton, and Parkview)
Okay I take that back, this quadrant is the most competitive one in my opinion. Shiloh, Discovery, Wheeler, and Tift County all have chances to come out of this quadrant. Wheeler will host Hillgrove, Discovery will host Parkview, Shiloh will host West Forsyth, and Tift County will host Walton in the first round. Assuming they win out, Wheeler and Tift County and Discovery and Shiloh should all meet in the second round. The sleeper team this year in the class 7A, to me, could be either Tift County or Discovery. The Tift County Blue Devils have won the class 7A state championships surprisingly back in 2014 and 2017 and I would not count them out this year either. Discovery has been one of the most consistent teams all year long and coming in as region champions with a 21-5 overall record.
My Prediction:
Final Four: Norcross vs McEachern and Wheeler vs Meadowcreek
Championship: McEachern vs Meadowcreek
Champions: McEachern