There’s no sugarcoating it. The chances of Georgia basketball of getting to the NCAA Tournament are slim to none.
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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:
@ Alabama (16-10, 9-5)
Currently tied for the fourth place in the SEC, the Crimson Tide gave the Bulldogs their worst loss of the season when they beat them down 80-60 at home on Jan. 25. Alabama has currently lost three of their last six, including two of their last three home games.
LSU (9-18, 1-14)
LSU is currently the worst team in the SEC, with just one conference win on the season. This is like a cupcake game against an FCS school. It’s not an important game… unless you lose. The Tigers have currently lost 13 straight games, including their last three by an average of 20.3 points.
Auburn (17-11, 6-9)
Georgia beat the Tigers 96-84 on the road back in December. Auburn is currently 11th in the SEC and have lost three of their last four, with the only win coming against LSU. If the Dawgs are going to get in the tournament, they should easily knock off the Tigers.
@ Arkansas (20-7, 9-5)
The Razorbacks are the Dawgs’ toughest test remaining in the regular season, and really their only shot at a marquee win. Arkansas is currently tied for fourth in the SEC, and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has them as a 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
SEC Tournament – Second Round
(8) Vanderbilt vs. (9) Georgia
With the way the SEC standings currently sit, the Bulldogs are likely to play Vanderbilt in the opening round of the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs beat the Commodores back in January. Maten led the Dawgs in scoring that night, but Juwan Parker also added 17 points, one of the few games this season that Maten and Frazier were not the two leading scorers.
SEC Tournament – Quarterfinals
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(1) Kentucky vs. (9) Georgia
Kentucky and Florida are currently tied at the top of the SEC, with the Gators dismantling the Wildcats back on Feb. 4. But something tells me things will be different on Saturday at Rupp Arena and the Wildcats will win and snag the top seed in the SEC tournament.
It’s difficult to beat anyone three times, especially with how tough Georgia played Kentucky in both of their meetings this year. The Bulldogs need Maten to pull the upset, but they gained some confidence this past weekend with how well they played without him.
If the Bulldogs can upset Kentucky and get to the semifinals, that would bring their record to 21-12, and I think that will be enough to get the Dawgs into the Big Dance.