Look. Even though the Ole Miss Rebels are not going to make the NCAA Tournament, Chris Beard's team played so well as the No. 15 seed in the SEC Tournament. They were clutch in beating Texas, Georgia, and Alabama back-to-back-to-back over the course of three days before eventually falling to SEC Tournament champion Arkansas in overtime in the semis. Ole Miss may have just been good...
That being said, there were a few glaring issues that plagued Mike White's Georgia Bulldogs in the first half and down the stretch vs. Ole Miss. If these issues were to manifest once again in the NCAA Tournament, Georgia is not getting out of the first round. In the hours leading up to Selection Sunday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Georgia as a projected No. 8 seed, taking on No. 9 TCU in the Round of 64...
With a handful more days left to ponder before the first round commences next weekend, now is the time for White to show off his coaching chops. Can he make the necessary adjustments to help Georgia build off one of its greatest regular seasons to date? While much of this year's team will be back in 2026-27, we do live in the wonderful world of the transfer portal. Let's make this happen then!
Unless White corrects these three massive issues, Georgia will not be going far into March Madness.
3. When the open shot is there, Georgia has to trust itself to make it
This is signficant. It has often gotten swept under the rug within the context of Georgia playing with such tremendous pace all season long. While it may be by design to wear down lesser teams who do not implement a deep rotation like Georgia does, the Dawgs passed the ball way too much for their own good vs. Ole Miss. There were looks to be had out on the perimeter, that they just did not take!
Because every team they are playing the rest of the way will be of caliber, trying to run somebody off the floor is probably not going to work as much as White wants to believe that it can. Thus, if trusted shooters have open looks from distance, trust them to make the bucket. All it takes is one 3-pointer to go through the cylinder for somebody like Kanon Catchings to catch fire and run away with things.
Unless they can get higher-percentage shots at the rim, Georgia will advance with its jump-shooting.
2. To advance in the NCAA Tournament, UGA has to make its free throws
This was perhaps the most frustrating part of Georgia's SEC Tournament loss to Ole Miss. The Bulldogs may have played terribly in the first half, but they were able to cut into the massive deficit considerably in the second half. Unfortunately, they could not hit their free throws... When you only make 60 percent of your free throws in a tournament setting, you deserve to lose and end your run.
The shame in it all is Georgia has guys who are particularly clutch at the free throw line. It is why when the likes of Catchings, Blue Cain, Marcus Millender, and Jeremiah Wilkinson get to the charity stripe, they have to deliver. Georgia does a great job of drawing contact while on offense to get buckets and extend the game. But when they cannot make their free throws, it puts the entire fan base into agony.
Had Georgia have just made its free throws, maybe it could have gone on a deeper run in the SEC?
1. No matter its opponent, UGA has to be more competitive on the glass
Of the many reasons why this year's Georgia team really only has a Sweet 16 ceiling, its laissez-faire approach towards rebounding is and will continue to get them into trouble. Again, this may be the construct of White preferring to play with pace and space. However, any good team left playing for a national championship is not going to waste second-chance opportunities along the offensive glass.
Georgia not only concedes those second-chance opportunities on the regular, but the Bulldogs will also take questionable shots in transition to further accentuate its grueling pace for the worse. If Georgia is operating at a major rebounding deficit on either side of the floor, there is no chance this team will be playing into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Do they have this in them?
The worst part in all of this is Georgia's fatal flaw is one a halfway decent team can always exploit...