Georgia basketball: The Lady Dogs have tough path in NCAA Tournament

Georgia basketball has two different storylines occurring for the men’s and women’s programs. The Lady Dogs are in their 35th NCAA Tournament, while the men just hired a new head coach.

Head coach Joni Taylor’s squad earned a No. 6 seed in the Greensboro region, where they are still waiting to see who they’ll play first. The winner of Depaul and Dayton will take on the Lady Dogs at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

With them having a little bit of a break since the SEC Tournament, they’ve had time to work on getting back to the scrappy team that beat No. 2 NC State and Notre Dame teams and does something special in the offseason.

Georgia basketball will see its Lady Dogs fight in a challenge region.

The Lady Dogs are 20-9 overall and have thrived on the road this season, posting a 9-4 record. The NC State and Notre Dame wins both came on the road, which is a big advantage for them in the tournament.

Georgia has been in 35 of the 40 women’s NCAA tournaments, trails only Tennessee. The Lady Dogs have played 92 tournament games, which is No. 5 nationally, and the 57 all-time tournament wins rank No. 7.

According to the Georgia Sports Information Department, the ladies have been to 20 Sweet 16’s, 11 Elite Eights and five Final Fours. Those Final Fours came in 1983, 1985, 1995, 1996 and 1999. So while it’s been a while since they’ve been, Georgia knows what it feels like to play there.

Dayton and DePaul play on Wednesday to decide who will take on the Lady Dogs. If Georgia beats either, they will take on No. 3 seed Iowa State or No. 14 seed UT Arlington.

Georgia will have a tough road in the NCAA Tournament if they want to make a deep run, but it isn’t impossible. However, South Carolina is the No.1 seed in this region, so that will be a big obstacle if they make it that far.

Here is the full Greensboro Region for those interested in the women’s bracket.

Jena Staiti and Que Morrison need to be on their A-game for the remaining games because the Dawgs are almost unstoppable when they are. Taylor needs to utilize her bench because those young ladies are ready to prove themselves.

Georgia needs to hunker down on their defense and control the pace of the game. The Lady Dogs have the talent to make a run, so it’s time to cut out the silly mistakes and prove they are a force.

This women’s basketball program deserves our support and respect, so tune into their first-round game on Friday because it could be the start of a deep tournament run.