Dawn of the Dawg
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Georgia basketball: What’s next?

By Alistair Penny

Mar 10, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox talks with guard Juwan Parker (3) during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox talks with guard Juwan Parker (3) during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Georgia Basketball had a rough day on Friday dropping out of the SEC Tournament. What happens next for the bulldogs?

Related Story: UGA beats Tennessee

A spirited display by the Georgia basketball team wasn’t quite enough on Friday. The team pushed the tournament favorite Kentucky as bets they could but they ended up coming up short. A 71-60 defeat pretty much summed up the talent deficit between the two teams as Kentucky looked much better than they did in their previous match up.

Yante Maten and J.J Fraizer led the Bulldogs but both of them had very inefficient nights. Maten went 3-11 on his 2nd game back from injury bringing in 12 points for the game. Fraizer was even more ineffective, going 4-17 and missing a lot of shots he made in previous weeks. Ultimately, UGA’s two best players had poor games against the top team in the tournament. It’s difficult to beat such a talented team when something like that happens.

So what now?

Despite playing competitive basketball for the past month, it’s highly unlikely that UGA make the NCAA tournament. With no big win over a top 50 team, there are too many other teams on the bubble who have a better case than Georgia.

This means that UGA will end up in the NIT for the third time in four years. A lesser tournament which has considerably less hype, the real question for the UGA team is how much they want to win it. In Maten and Fraizer, Georgia will have two of the premier players in that particular tournament. They will have a chance to go deep and possibly even win it, it’s just a matter of how much they want it.

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J.J. Fraizer has been a terrific competitor for Georgia these past 4 years and as a senior will not be returning next year. Fans can hope that his drive to end his career at UGA on a high will help drive this team in the NIT. Although it’s not the NCAA, it would be a fitting reward for a player like J.J. to see this team lift an unexpected trophy at the end of the season.

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