Following a spirited regular season and four rounds of fierce playoff basketball, the 2020 state championships are ready to tipoff at the Macon Centreplex with four thrilling days of action. A boys and girls state title will be handed out in each of Georgia’s eight classifications in addition to the AAASP Wheelchair state championship and the brand new dunk and three-point contest. The AAASP finals will be played Friday at 3 p.m. and will feature Henry County against Houston County. Following the game, the Girls 3-point Final will proceed the Class 5A Girls Finals. The Inaugural Boys Slam Dunk Final is scheduled for 4:45 p.m on Saturday and will proceed the girls and boys Class AAAAAAA finals.
As for the matchups in each of the eight classifications, 14 of this year’s 32-team field will be looking to capture first-ever state titles while the other 18 teams will be playing to extend their dominance and keep the power shifted in their favor.
NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED
In Class AAAAAAA, the nationally-ranked Grayson boys sit one win away from a first-ever state title and will take on six-time state champion Wheeler Wildcats that captured their most recent crown in 2015. On the girls side, two-time defending Class AAAAAAA state champion Westlake will take on undefeated Collins Hill, which won its last state crown in 2009 in what marked the program’s fifth all-time championship.
The Class AAAAAA boys championship game between Lanier and Chattahoochee will be one of the four matchups this weekend that will guarantee a first-time state champion. Class AAAAAA girls finalist Glynn Academy is also in search for a first-ever state title, while the Terrors’ opponent Forest Park looks to snap a title drought that dates all the way back to the 1970 season.
PRIME MATCHUPS
The Cedar Shoals and Dutchtown boys each sit a win away from first-ever titles and both programs have followed a string of dramatic finishes this postseason to set up their showdown in the Class AAAAA finals. The Kell girls enter the Class AAAAA with a perfect record, but will now face three-time defending champion Buford, which has racked seven up state crowns since the 2009 season.
The Class AAAA boys championship will see Woodward Academy and Cross Creek battle for first-ever titles while the Troup girls will look for their first-ever championship against 2016 state champion Americus-Sumter.
In Class AAA, the Pace Academy boys will look to claim the program’s third state title since 2016 against Jefferson, which is looking for its first. On the girls side, Greater Atlanta Christian squares off with Beach, which took home its most recent title in 2017.
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Defending Class AA boys state champion Therrell faces a Swainsboro program looking for its first state title since 1996 and defending girls state champion Douglass faces a Southwest-Macon program aiming for its first state crown.
Class A-Public’s top-seeded Treutlen boys sit a win away from its first-ever state crown against a Hancock Central program that claimed its first in 2008. On the girls side, No. 1 seed Central-Talbotton faces a Wheeler County team looking for its first-ever championship.
In Class A-Private, St. Francis is the only school this weekend that will have an opportunity to sweep boys and girls state titles. The boys will face off with Greenforest Christian, while the girls get set to take on defending champion Holy Innocents’.
