Georgia basketball has officially made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. The Bulldogs found out late Sunday night that they earned a 9-seed in the Midwest region, where they will take on 8-seed Gonzaga in the opening round of the tournament.
While making the tournament is good enough for most Georgia fans, Mike White and the Bulldogs have greater things in mind. They have faith that they can rattle off some wins in the NCAA Tournament, and that all begins later this week when they take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
But before the game begins, here is all the information you need to know to watch the Bulldogs in their first tournament game in over 10 years.
When
Georgia and Gonzaga are set to do battle on Thursday, March 20 at 4:35 pm EST.
Where
The Bulldogs will travel to Wichita, KS to take on Gonzaga in their opening round NCAA Tournament game.
How to Watch
The Bulldogs first round NCAA Tournament game will air on TBS.
NCAA Tournament History
This season marks the 13th appearance for Georgia in the NCAA Tournament. While that is a decent number of appearances, it has been quite some time since Georgia earned a win in the Big Dance.
Georgia's last three trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, 2011 and 2008 all ended in opening round losses. 2002 was the last time Georgia won a game after they took down 14-seed Murray State, but that win was later vacated. So the last win that still counts came in 1996 against 1-seed Purdue. To put how long ago that was into perspective, no member of Georgia's team was alive when Georgia beat Purdue in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
The longest run in the NCAA Tournament for Georgia came in their first ever appearance in 1983. The Bulldogs beat VCU, St. John's and North Carolina en route to the program's only Final Four appearance. This is where that magical run ended as they lost to eventual National Champion NC State in the Final Four.
Series History
Georgia and Gonzaga have faced each other four other times in their history, with Gonzaga holding a 3-1 series edge. The last meeting saw Gonzaga win a close battle 88-76 back in 2014. Georgia's only victory against Gonzaga came in 2006, when they knocked off Gonzaga 96-83.
Early Odds
According To FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga is favored by 6.5 points as of Monday, March 17 at 8:00 am EST. The over-under for the game is set at 151.5 points as well. ESPN's Matchup Predictor also loves Gonzaga, giving them a 71.3 percent change to win this game.
Prediction
This Georgia team has shown a lot of heart just to make it into the NCAA Tournament. Just a few weeks ago no one thought they had a chance to make it into the tournament, but then they rattled off four straight wins including a win over 1-seed Florida to end the regular season.
On top of that, Georgia also has a win over 2-seed St. John's from earlier this season as well.
Gonzaga however is a very experienced team when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. This is their 26th straight appearance in the tournament, which is the third longest active streak behind Michigan State and Kansas. Not only are they experienced in this tournament, but they also have great predictive metrics as the NET still ranks them inside the top 10.
Georgia however will not be intimidated of this team, but it is hard to see UGA pulling off a win against a team that probably deserves a much better seed.
Prediction: Gonzaga wins 83-76