Things are trending up for the Georgia Bulldogs, and now the national media is starting to take notice.
Must Read: Georgia Basketball: Best case scenario
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi started his Bracketology page of ESPN.com several years ago and with how accurate he’s been over the last several years, his predictions can almost be taken as gospel.
I’m not sure if it takes a four-year degree to become a certified bracketologist, but if so, I may have picked the wrong major.
If you’re not aware of how the page works, Lunardi projects every team in the NCAA Tournament and seeds them from the 1 to 16. Then he names the last four teams in the field, the first four out, and then the next four out.
In Lunardi’s latest edition of Bracketology, Georgia is now one of the first four out. While still being outside of the field is nothing worth celebrating, it does show that the Bulldogs are gaining some traction in the committee’s eyes, or at least in Joe Lunardi’s eyes, although I’m not sure how to differentiate the two.
Georgia is listed alongside Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Rhode Island as the first four out.
Here’s how Georgia stacks up against the other three teams:
Georgia Tech – 16-13 (7-9 in ACC)
- RPI: 91, SOS: 51
- Remaining Schedule: vs. Pittsburgh, @ Syracuse
For playing in the ACC, the Yellow Jackets have a surprisingly low strength of schedule. After back-to-back wins over top 15 teams about a month ago, Tech has lost five of their last eight games. What the Yellow Jackets do have going for them is four wins over RPI top 50 teams.
Wake Forest – 16-12 (7-9 in ACC)
- RPI: 44, SOS: 24
- Remaining Schedule: vs. (8) Louisville, @ Virginia Tech
Wake Forest has one of the tougher schedules in the country, but their problem is similar to Georgia’s, they haven’t beaten any of those good teams. The Demon Deacons are 1-9 against the RPI top 50 this season, but they will have two more opportunities to close out the regular season against no. 4 Louisville and no. 38 Virginia Tech.
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Rhode Island – 19-9 (11-5 in Atlantic 10)
- RPI: 42, SOS: 42
- Remaining Schedule: @ St. Joseph’s, vs. Davidson
Rhode Island is an interesting case. They’re tied for third place in the A-10 right now, a league that is currently projected to get two teams in the tourney, but they’ve only played five games against RPI top 50 teams.
Major conference bubble teams will be actively rooting against the Rams when the A-10 tournament comes around, because they’re the type of team that could steal a spot in the big dance.
Georgia – 17-12 (8-8 in SEC)
- RPI: 52, SOS: 20
- Remaining Schedule: Auburn, @ Arkansas
The Bulldogs have the toughest schedule of these four teams, and while that sounds great, you need to win some of those tough games if you’re going to get into the tournament. Georgia is 1-7 against the RPI top 50 this season, and they’ll have one more opportunity when they travel to no. 29 Arkansas to close the season.