Some of Georgia's best teams remain in the AAAAA state basketball bracket. We take a deeper look at the Elite Eight of the bunch and what you should be watching for this weekend. 

SCHEDULE

Thursday, Feb. 25 at Columbus State

Allatoona (29-0) vs Southwest Dekalb (25-5), 4:45 pm
Cedar Shoals (28-2) vs Mays (13-13), 8:15 pm

Friday, Feb. 26 at Columbus State

South Paulding (25-4) vs Miller Grove (27-2), 4:45 pm
McIntosh (28-2) vs Riverwood (29-1), 8:15 pm

BEST GAME: McIntosh (28-2) vs Riverwood (29-1). Talk about a terrific match-up. There isn’t a better game in all of the playoffs, from a win-loss record perspective, in all of the brackets this weekend. Both teams are well-coached, anchored by intimidating post players, good shooters on the wings and terrific passers. Both teams won in the closing seconds of their second round games. Both teams are riding high. 

BEST PLAYER MATCH-UP: South Paulding’s Kane Williams vs Miller Grove’s Alterique Gilbert. Talk about a great point guard battle. Williams is a big and long point guard and he’ll have his hands full with the McDonald’s All-American. South Paulding is one of the best teams most Atlanta hoop heads don’t know much about. This is a big stage for Williams and his teammates. Gilbert is one of the most seasoned players in Georgia post-season history. 

WHAT WE LEARNED IN FIRST TWO ROUNDS: 

Mays is taking full advantage of the second season. At 13-13, no one has a record like the Atlanta City School does at this stage of the game. Two road wins over Sequoyah and Jones County have put the Raiders in the Elite Eight. 

Southwest Dekalb’s win at Warner Robins shouldn’t go unnoticed. The last time the Demons lost at home was January 10, 2015 to Northside Warner Robins. Warner Robins, until the SW Dekalb game, only lost twice at home over the last three seasons. 

Region 6-AAAAA remains a gauntlet in Georgia high school hoops. There are three teams from the region still playing.

STORYLINES: 

Two of the best point guards in Georgia are in this field. We mentioned Gilbert at Miller Grove at the top of this write-up. He’s 112-14 and a two-time state champ at the Deklab County school. Allatoona’s Ephraim Tshimanga is 109-12 in his career at the Cobb County school. Both have had amazing careers in high school. 

Allatoona, one of the best defensive teams in the state, is holding teams to 45 points a game in the playoffs. Southwest Dekalb puts up nearly 70 a contest. Nice juxtaposition to watch here. 

The best game of AAAAA will provide an ending to an amazing story. 1. Before the McIntosh seniors came into the program, the Chiefs were a collective 54-43 over the course of four years. This 2016 class has been the best class in school history, going 93-21. Or 2. Riverwood’s best basketball season comes to an end. Both teams play unselfish and play hard. Heck of a year for the winner and loser in this one. 

That said, Cedar Shoals is also one of the best defensive teams in the state, too. The Athens club is relentless. Mays is playing fearless right now. That kind of mentality is needed against the guard play of Cedar Shoals.  

FINAL FOUR RE-DO
JY:Allatoona, Cedar Shoals, McIntosh, Miller Grove
CW: Allatoona, Cedar Shoals, McIntosh, Miller Grove