Cordele — The five area basketball teams who have already definitely qualified for state tournament play now know who, when and where they’ll be playing in the opening round set for either Wednesday or Thursday.

The two other squads who are almost certain to be state tournament participants but won’t know that for sure until mid-afternoon Wednesday currently know only that they’ll be playing on Saturday if they do qualify.

Scheduled for Wednesday outings are Crisp and Fullington academies girls, who’ll be in action at ABAC in Tifton and Crisp County High’s boys who’ll be at Jonesboro High.

The Region 3-A champion Lady Wildcats (27-2) of Crisp Academy will be playing at 8:30 against Nathaniel Greene’s Lady Patriots, the No. 4 seed from Region 1-A. The winner plays again at 8:30 p.m. Friday at ABAC vs. the Robert Toombs-Lafayette Christian victor.

The Region 3-A runner-up Lady Trojans (8-16) of Fullington take the floor at 5:30 against John Hancock Academy’s Lady Rebels, the No. 3 seed from Region 1-A. The victor returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday at ABAC vs. the Citizens Christian-Heirway Christian winner.

Friday’s winners then move on to the Final Four to be played on Feb. 28 and March 2 at Mercer University in Macon where the Crisp Academy girls are heavy favorites to capture a third straight state crown.

As Region 1-AAAA’s No. 3 seed, Crisp’s Cougars will get their first Georgia High School Association state tourney test at 7:30 p.m. at  Region 4-AAAA runner-up Jonesboro High.

Crisp coach Terry Smith said the perimeter-oriented Cardinals, who favor a fast-paced attack, have employed a line-up of four guards and a 6-foot-8 post player in posting a record of “something like 21-6.”

Smith said Cougar fans planning to attend the game should take I75 North to Exit 231, turn left and continue to drive for about 5-6 minutes to the Jonesboro campus that will be located on the left side of the road.

Should Crisp County upset Jonesboro it would play again on either Friday or Saturday against either Statesboro or Baldwin County.

Area teams scheduled to play on Thursday also at ABAC are the Crisp and Fullington Academy boys.

As the Region 3-A runner-up, the 11-10 Trojans of Fullington will take the court at 5:30 against John Hancock’s Rebels, the No. 3 seed from Region 1. The winner plays again at 5 p.m. Saturday at ABAC vs. the Robert Toombs-Layfayette Christian victor.

Crisp Academy’s Wildcats (9-15), the No. 4 seed from Region 3-A, play at 7 p.m. against Region 1 champion Curtis Baptist. The survivor of that contest sees action again at 2 p.m. Saturday at ABAC vs. the Oak Mountain-Citizens Christian winner.

The victors of Saturday games move on to the GISA’s boys Final Four to be played March 1-2 at Mercer University.

Currently in the dark at the moment about their state tournament fate are the Wilcox High Patriots (20-4) and Dooly County Bobcats (15-7) who hope to claim two of the 16 GHSA Class A public school slots.

Teams that won region championships — and there are four of them (Seminole, Turner, Portal and Hawkinsville) — automatically earned berths.

The remaining 12 slots will be filled according to Max.Prep power rankings that will be officially announced Wednesday afternoon. Wilcox will likely come in at No. 7. If so, it will play at home Saturday against the 10th-ranked team, which may turn out to be Treutlen County.

If Dooly winds up eighth or better, it, too, gets to host a first-round game. Should the Bobcats be ranked between 9-16, they must go on the road.

In the event either Wilcox or Dooly or both fails to make the top 16, their seasons will already have come to an end — a fate the 6-16 Lady Bobcats and 3-8 Lady Patriots have already experienced.

AREA CAGE SLATE

WEDNESDAY

GISA Class A Girls at ABAC

5:30 p.m. — Fullington vs. John Hancock

8;30 p.m. — Crisp vs. Nathaniel Greene

GHSA Class AAAA Boys

7:30 p.m. — Crisp County at Jonesboro

THURSDAY

GISA Class A Boys at ABAC

5:30 p.m. — Fullington vs. John Hancock

7 p.m. — Crisp vs. Curtis Baptist

FRIDAY

GISA Class A Girls at ABAC

5:30 p.m. — Fullington plays if it wins Wednesday

8:30 p.m. — Crisp plays if it wins Wednesday

GHSA CLASS AAAA BOYS

TBA — Crisp County could play if it wins Wednesday

SATURDAY

GISA Class A Boys at ABAC

2 p.m. — Crisp plays if it wins Thursday

5 p.m. — Fullington plays if it wins Thursday

GHSA CLASS A BOYS

TBA — Wilcox and Dooly play if they earn Top 16 public school power rankings

GHSA CLASS AAAA BOYS

TBA — Crisp County could play if it wins Wednesday