Georgia Basketball: The tough road to the 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 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. 50 in RPI (Rankings Power Index) and has the no. 13 SOS (Strength of Schedule) in the country.

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

Their one win over an RPI top 50 team was their 76-68 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 17. They do have five other wins against RPI top 100 teams, but it’s going to take more that that in the eyes of the committee.

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: