The day Georgia basketball fans have been waiting a decade for is finally here. Mike White and the Bulldogs are finally back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, and that is reason enough to throw a big party in Athens.
But that party came to crashing end the second their first round matchup with 8-seed Gonzaga began as Georgia had no answer for anything Gonzaga threw at them.
The first half has come to an end with Georgia trailing Gonzaga 48-27, and here are a few quick reactions before the second half begins.
Slow Start
Starting fast in any sport is extremely important, but that is especially the case when your season is on the line in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia did the opposite of starting fast as they fell behind Gonzaga 13-0 by the first media timeout.
The poor play didn't end their as Gonzaga held a 30-10 lead halfway through the first half as well. Whenever Georgia starts a game this poorly, it's hard to ever expect a win.
Turnovers
One of the biggest reasons for Georgia's slow start was turnovers. The Bulldogs had five turnovers before anyone could even blink, and Gonzaga was taking care of the ball at an elite level. The half ended with 10 turnovers from Georgia, and when UGA fails to take care of the ball this poorly then it's nearly impossible to win.
Hot shooting from Gonzaga
Georgia obviously could have done a lot of things better during the first half of this game, but some credit has to be given to Gonzaga. Overall, Georgia didn't play horrific defense the entire half, Gonzaga was just hitting every shot they took. At some point Gonzaga just deserves a lot of respect for being able to hit tough shot after tough shot.
Is there any hope for a comeback?
It's hard to imagine a scenario where UGA comes back and wins this game, but with 20 minutes still to play anything is possible. Georgia has gone on a big run before against an elite team when they took down Florida a few weeks ago, so if they did it once why can't they do it again?