Georgia Basketball: The difficult road to NCAA Tournament

Feb 18, 2017; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia basketball guard J.J. Frazier (30) drives past Kentucky Wildcats guard Dominique Hawkins (25) in the second half at Stegeman Coliseum. Kentucky won 82-77. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

There’s no sugarcoating it. The chances of Georgia basketball of getting to the NCAA Tournament are slim to none.

The Bulldogs are currently 15-12 (6-8) and are tied for ninth in the SEC. But their chances just got even slimmer with the news that Yante Maten is out for the rest of the regular season, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be back for the SEC tournament in Nashville from Mar. 8 to Mar. 12.

The Bulldogs were so close to getting a marquee win on Saturday, but ended up falling short in an 82-77 loss to no. 13 Kentucky.

Georgia currently ranks no. 52 in RPI (Rankings Power Index) and no. 13 in SOS (Strength of Schedule).

But one thing remains constant: The Bulldogs are still without that marquee win.

In Georgia’s six games against ranked teams this season, the Dawgs are 0-6, with an average margin of 7.2 points, and two of those losses came in overtime on the road at Florida and Kentucky.

But here’s what it’s going to take for the Bulldogs to get to the Big Dance: