The weekend is loaded with high school basketball postseason action as eight states will crown champions across multiple classifications.
We are highlighting 10 of the top matchups of the weekend. Some feature teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 while others are highly-anticipated showdowns at the state level.
Although not featured on the list, top-ranked senior
Tyran Stokes along with freshman phenom
J.J. Crawford and No. 15
Rainier Beach (Seattle) will be among the top teams to watch in both of their upcoming state tournament contests. The Vikings face
Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) tomorrow in the Washington Class 3A state semifinals at 3:45 p.m. before a potential trip to the state championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.
Read on for a look at games that have our attention in the coming days. All times are local.
Unbeaten and nationally-ranked Gainesville hopes to earn more hardware in Georgia's Class 5A state tournament. (PHOTO: Ken Ortloff)
Open Division state championship
Time: 8 p.m., Saturday
What to watch for: St. Mary's will look to pull off a second straight major upset as the Knights knocked off No. 6 Millennium on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from
Mick Riordan to advance to the state title game. Five-star Duke signee
Cam Williams and St. Mary's hope to spring another upset Saturday. Sunnsylope comes into the matchup as the favorite after winning the previous meeting between the two teams 65-43 earlier in the season. Juniors
Darius Wabbington and
Delton Prescott along with Colorado signee
Rider Portela are the players to watch.
California
Open Division state quarterfinals
What to watch for: Can anyone stop state title favorite Sierra Canyon from capturing its first Open Division crown since 2020? Santa Margarita will give a shot this weekend as Oregon State signee
Drew Anderson, Georgia Tech signee
Kaiden Bailey and Washington State signee
Brayden Kyman look to lead the way in the upset bid. Sierra Canyon has been powered by a one-two punch of McDonald's All-Americans as five-star senior
Brandon McCoy and top 25 North Carolina signee
Maximo Adams are the headliners.
Open Division state quarterfinals
Time: 7 p.m., Saturday
What to watch for: A matchup between two teams knocking on the door of the MaxPreps Top 25, both teams have played their best late in the season. St. Joseph enters the matchup riding a 15-game winning streak while Harvard-Westlake is coming off a run to the Southern Section Open Division title game. Harvard-Westlake won back-to-back Open Division crowns in 2023 and 2024 but have flown under the radar as a state title contender much of the year. The Wolverines are led by four-star Texas signee
Joe Sterling. St. Joseph leans on Stanford signee
Julius Price and brother
Malcolm Price.
Georgia
Class 6A state semifinals
Time: 7 p.m., Saturday
What to watch for: This state semifinal showdown will be somewhat of a defacto state championship game as Wheeler and McEachern appear to be the top teams remaining in Georgia's highest classification. Wheeler enters the showdown as heavy favorites to win the program's 11th state championship and their fifth title in the past seven seasons behind top 25 Connecticut signee
Colben Landrew, four-star junior
Kevin Savage and Clemson signee
Amare James. McEachern is powered by top 60 junior
Chase Lumpkin, who is averaging 35.6 points per contest in state tournament action.
Class 5A state semifinals
Time: 3 p.m., Saturday
What to watch for: Gainesville puts its unbeaten season on the line Saturday with a showdown against an ultra-talented Woodward Academy squad. Region 7 Co-Player of the Year
Kevin White and Belmont signee
Charlie Gersmehl are the catalysts for a senior-laden Gainesville rotation. The upstart War Eagles are anchored by a big three of four-star junior
Jarvis Hayes Jr. and top 10 sophomores
Myles Hayes and
Bentley Lusakueno. Both teams won their three previous state tournament games by double-digits en route to the semifinals.
North Carolina
Class 4A state semifinals
Time: 4 p.m., Saturday
What to watch for: UNC Greensboro signee
Dionte Neal has compiled a record of 108-2 during his time at Reidsville with back-to-back state championships. One of his two losses came against Washington earlier in the season at the John Wall Holiday Invitational when he helped his team erase 16-point halftime deficit with 36 of his game-high 42 points coming in the second half of the four-point loss. Neal's running mate this season has been sophomore guard
Paul Cauthen Jr., who is averaging 22.2 points per game. Washington has a dynamic duo leading the way as seniors
Shimere Garris and
Chaise Smith are both averaging around 21 points per game.
Texas
Conference 6A Division 1 state quarterfinals
Time: 8 p.m., Friday
What to watch for: After unbeaten No. 8 Seven Lakes fell in the third round of the state tournament, No. 17 North Crowley becomes the slight favorite in a loaded Conference 6A Division 1 field. The Panthers knifed through their first three opponents in postseason play behind junior guard
Isaak Hayes. Despite graduating each of its top five scorers from last season's team that made a run to the state semifinals, Allen has managed to put together another strong season behind Hampton signee
Nehemiah Lawrence and junior guard
Cadarian Urune-Williams.
Conference 6A Division 1 state quarterfinals
Time: Friday, 7 p.m.
What to watch for: Brennan has now reached the state quarterfinals in five consecutive seasons and the Bears are in search of their third trip to the semifinals in the past four seasons. Brennan features five seniors averaging 10.6 points per contest or more led by UTEP signee
Donovan Criss and Denver signee
Isaiah Ward. Steele enters the matchup as winners of its last 13 games dating back to Jan. 10. Steele is coming off an 80-79 victory over Round Rock Westwood (Austin) in round three.
Conference 5A Division 1 state quarterfinals
Time: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
What to watch for: Heritage features one of the top one-two punches in the nation as SMU signee
Cameron Lomax and five-star Duke signee
Bryson Howard combine to average 48.6 points per game. The Coyotes are the heavy favorites in the Conference 5A Division 1 bracket as they have won 26 straight games since suffering back-to-back losses in November. West Mesquite enter the matchup on a 14-game win streak after winning its second and third round state tournament contests by a combined 12 points.
Washington
Class 4A state championship
Time: Saturday, 6 p.m.
What to watch for: Each team still has to win two games to advance to the state championship game, a potential showdown between two of the top teams in the state regardless of classification. Richland is one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation as the Bombers average over 92 points per contest while topping the century mark 10 times. Conversely, Gonzaga Prep is holding its opponents to just 47.5 points per game on the year.
