It may only go down as a Quad 3 home victory, but the Georgia Bulldogs left no doubt vs. the South Carolina Gamecocks. Although South Carolina kept it close for a while, Georgia emerged as a buzz saw down the stretch offensively to win this one comfortably, 87-68. This not only got them back to .500 in SEC play at 8-8, but Georgia collected its 20th win on the year for the third campaign in a row.
That should be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament as is, but a lot can change between now and Selection Sunday. In the previous Bracketology update from Friday of last week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi put a bit of a bad omen on the Bulldogs. He grouped them in with Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, and Auburn as the teams with the last four byes, with Auburn being the first of the last four teams in.
Now look at them... Lunardi again has Georgia as a No. 9 seed for the third update in a row. The Bulldogs are projected to take on No. 8 Miami in the Philadelphia quadrant of the South Region that goes through Houston. Should Georgia win that game, they would take on presumably No. 1 seed UConn. Getting to the Sweet 16 is going to be a challenge from where the Bulldogs may be seeded.
Georgia responded to Lunardi's jab as good as Mizzou and Texas did, but better than Auburn or A&M.
Georgia showed it belongs in the NCAA Tournament after 20th victory
For those who need a refresher on what Lunardi wrote about Georgia late last week, here you go...
"You'll notice the SEC represents each of the current Last Four Byes, plus the first team among the Last Four In, in what could be a nightmare brewing for the selection committee ... The five teams in question -- Georgia, Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas and Auburn -- are not likely to remain in such perfect order, but the extremely close nature of their resumes suggest that one or more could play their way out of the field given head-to-head possibilities down the stretch or in the SEC Tournament."
Georgia, Missouri, and Texas all winning have them comfortably in the field of 68. Texas A&M dropped a spot to the last team to skip the First Four round with a bye. Auburn plummeted after its disastrous home loss to Ole Miss. Lunardi now has those Tigers as the first team out. At 15-14 on the season, it is going to take nothing short of a miracle for Steven Pearl's team to make the field of 68 at this point.
So what does this really mean for Georgia? Assuming they do not look like lost puppies vs. Alabama on Tuesday night and at Mississippi State over the weekend, the Bulldogs should make the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row relatively easily. Mike White's team has 20 wins on the year, including several key ones of the Quad 1 variety. Beating Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky is huge.
Although Georgia could conceivably improve its seeding to a season-best No. 7 over the course of the next week or so, we are probably looking at either a No. 9 or No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Furthermore, the chances of Georgia stumbling to that of a No. 10, or especially a No. 11 seed taking part in the First Four, seems highly unlikely. Water has found its level with this team, which is a No. 9...
Overall, it was so nice to see the Bulldogs play up their potential when doubt was starting to creep in.