The pressure is mounting in the AAAA division as some of the heavy-hitters remain. That means the Elite Eight and beyond should make for some of the best basketball in all of the state tournaments. We preview the classification. 

Thursday, Feb. 25 at Fort Valley State
Sandy Creek (21-7) vs Lithonia (24-5), 4:45 pm
Monroe (22-6) vs Liberty County (25-1), 8:15 pm

Friday, Feb. 26 at Fort Valley State

Westover (19-11) vs Grady (27-3)
Jonesboro (26-4) vs St. Pius X (24-6)

BEST GAME: Jonesboro (26-4) vs St. Pius X (24-6) The two teams come into the game on one point wins. Both squads are incredibly well-coached and run very deliberate styles of play. Will Jonesboro’s physical defense win out or will St. Pius X’s half court brilliance shine through? Two contrasting styles will be feature in this dandy of an Elite 8 match-up.  

BEST PLAYER MATCH-UP: Westover’s Allec Williams vs Grady’s Avi Toomer. Both guys can take a game over. Westover, a five seed in the Region 1-AAAA tournament is one of the post-season’s surge squads. Williams has a lot to do with it. When it comes to getting buckets, few do it better than Toomer. The Bucknell bound guard is having a monster senior season and could have his team playing in Macon. 

WHAT WE LEARNED IN FIRST TWO ROUNDS

The pressure is mounting in AAAA. Six of the top eight seeds remain in the bracket. Few have really been challenged up to this point, too. That should change in the Elite Eight games. Everyone that we thought would be here, is here. That should make for a great run the rest of the way. 

STORYLINES:

Will this be the round where the entire state starts talking more about Liberty County’s Davion Mitchell? The Auburn bound guard is a constant highlight film every game out this season. He is playing at a level that demands significant consideration for AAAA Player of the Year. A big stage at Fort Valley could push some pundits over the edge with that thought. 

Lithonia and Sandy Creek haven’t been challenged yet in the playoffs. Sandy Creek has won on average of 30 points Lithonia has a pair of wins by an average of 46.5 a contest. Now facing each other, the Elite Eight game should be a well-fought battle of two very well-balanced teams with senior leadership. 

Monroe is a scary team. When the Albany crew is knocking down shots from the wing (more than likely from the hands of leading scorer Emeshaun Offord), watch out. Because the team will crash the boards and limit second chance opportunities. The Tornados will have their hands full though with Liberty County.

FINAL FOUR RE-DO
JY: Liberty County, Grady, Jonesboro, Sandy Creek
CW: Liberty County, Grady, Jonesboro, Lithonia