Georgia Mens Basketball: Season Preview

With hoops season on the horizon, here is a look at the upcoming schedule for the Georgia Mens Basketball team.

Georgia basketball has not always been a beacon of success; at least on the men’s side. The Dawgs have looked overmatched in their conference and in the country in many seasons prior. But, last year they made huge strides and built a strong foundation for the future of this program.

The team (21-12, 11-7 SEC) finished tied for fifth in the SEC in the regular season and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed. Their seven point loss in the first round to eventual final four participant Michigan State produced a great deal of momentum heading into this season.

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Returning from last year are four of the team’s top six scorers, including pre-season second team All-SEC selection Charles Mann. Sharpshooter J.J. Frazier and emotional-leader Kenny Gaines look to provide experience and speed in the frontcourt. Also, sophomore Yante Maten has his eyes set on working off of last season’s breakout year and becoming the leader of this team.

Here is a look at the team’s schedule for the 2015-2016 season:

11/13/15          Chattanooga                Home

11/20/15          Murray State              Home

11/25/15          High Point                   Home

11/28/15          Seton Hall                   Newark, NJ

12/01/15          Oakland                       Home

12/04/15          Kansas State               Home

12/08/15          Winthrop                    Home

12/19/15          Georgia Tech               Home

12/22/15          Clemson                      Home

12/29/15          Robert Morris             Home

1/02/16            Florida *                      Gainesville, FL

1/06/16            Missouri*                   Home

1/09/16            Ole Miss*                   Oxford, MS

1/13/16            Tennessee*                 Home

1/16/16            Texas A&M*              Home

1/20/16            Missouri*                   Columbia, MO

1/23/16            Arkansas*                   Home

1/26/16            LSU*                           Baton Rouge, LA

1/30/16            Baylor                         Waco, TX

2/02/16            South Carolina*          Home

2/06/16            Auburn*                      Home

2/09/16            Kentucky*                  Lexington, KY

2/13/16            Mississippi St.*         Starkville, MS

2/16/16            Florida*                       Home

2/20/16            Vanderbilt*                 Nashville, TN

2/24/16            Auburn*                      Auburn, AL

2/27/16            Ole Miss*                   Home

3/03/16            South Carolina*          Columbia, SC

3/05/16            Alabama*                    Home

* = SEC conference game

The beginning of the season sets up nicely for the Dawgs playing nine of their first 10 games at home. Their non-conference schedule is nothing to laugh at playing Seton Hall and Kansas State for a second straight year, along with battles between fellow Interstate-85 residents Georgia Tech and Clemson.

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Picked to finish fifth behind Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and LSU, their SEC schedule opens with preseason No. 6 in the conference Florida in Gainesville. Last year’s rout of the Gators in Athens is still fresh on the mind’s of Florida players, so look for this game to be a high-intensity matchup.

The story for this team will be their ability to beat the teams they should, unlike last year when they dropped conference games to bottom-dwellers South Carolina (twice) and Auburn.

They will also need to snag two wins against the four top-tier teams if they have any shot at a number one or two seed heading into the conference tournament.

Prior to last year, it had been a long time since Georgia had success and a slew of senior or experienced leaders. This team has both. They also have a proven coach in Mark Fox who after back-to-back 15-win seasons has led the Dawgs to two straight 20-win campaigns.

When they take the court on November 13^th against Chattanooga, they will look to do something they failed to do last year: open the season with a win.