Although not exactly unexpected, that does not make it hurt even less. The Georgia Bulldogs have hit a bit of a rough patch in their once-promising season. After getting off to a dazzling 16-3 (4-2) start to the season, Mike White's Dawgs have lost three in a row in SEC play, each one more painful than the previous one. Georgia was no match for the surging Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday afternoon at all...
No, lessons were not learned from the second-half beatdown on the road at Texas, nor were they learned from Marcus Millender's biggest blunder in a Georgia uniform to date vs. Tennessee. Georgia was as cold as it was outside to start the game vs. Texas A&M. The Bulldogs were down something ridiculous 22-2 to start the game. They tried to crawl back, but still got blown out at home, 92-77...
Georgia just suffered its first loss vs. a Quad 2 opponent on the season to Texas A&M. To be fair, the Aggies are running Bucky Ball to perfection under their emerging star head coach Bucky McMillan. Texas A&M has improved to a menacing 17-4 overall and a jaw-dropping 7-1 in SEC play. This team might win the league. How are the Aggies not ranked? More importantly, how was this not a Quad 1?
All this really means for Georgia at 16-6 (4-5) is that this team may not be a lock for the tournament...
Recent trends suggests the rest of the SEC has figured Mike White out
There is no way around it. This team has plateaued. Whether that is with the players on this team, or the head coach on the sidelines, something has to give... Either way, this is not good for Georgia, or really its prospects to be anything more than a one-and-done NCAA Tournament again. After getting blown out at home by Texas A&M, we all have to wonder how far down Georgia will fall in Bracketology.
Entering the season, White opted to play with such tremendous pace and a deep 11-man rotation to counterbalance having a largely unproven and inexperienced roster. It worked out well vs. lesser teams, but ones that are well-coached in the SEC like Florida, Ole Miss, Texas, Tennessee, and now Texas A&M have all figured out what White is trying to do here. Bucky Ball put this team in a blender...
Overall, Georgia needs to find a way to win something like four of its last nine games or so. The last thing they will want is to be at or around the cut line entering the SEC Tournament. White's team will want its tournament berth all but locked up before the end of the season. Being a No. 9 seed has its faults, but it is far better than being one of the No. 11 seeds playing in the First Four over in Dayton...
Georgia desperately needs to hit the mental reset button hard before next game on Saturday at LSU.