There is no way around it. Last weekend's road defeat at the hands of the Texas Longhorns was disastrous for Mike White's Georgia Bulldogs. They were up by seven points heading into halftime, only to throw up all over themselves in a 27-point swing in the second half to fall, 87-67. This knocked UGA down a peg in the latest Bracketology update, but this team is poised to make the tournament.
However, now is not the time for the Bulldogs to wallow in defeat of the mental meltdown in Austin. They have to pick themselves up by the boot straps and get ready one of the best programs in SEC history coming to town. That is right. It will be Rick Barnes' Tennessee Volunteers up next for Georgia. While the Vols are in a similar spot when it comes to the tournament field, they might have an edge...
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Georgia is only laying 1.5 points at home to visiting Tennessee. The associated moneylines have Georgia at -126 and Tennessee at +105. In a game that could seriously go either way, now is the time for Georgia to show Dawg Nation what it is made of. Does White's team want a Quad 1 over his brother's school? Danny White is Barnes' boss, by the way...
Clearly, the bookmakers do not trust Georgia in this spot, which is why the point spread is so low.
Oddsmakers have little faith Georgia can hold off Tennessee at home
When looking at the road ahead just a bit, Georgia really needs to take advantage of the schedule coming up. They have a Quad 1 opponent coming to town on Wednesday night in Tennessee. Over the weekend, they will draw a Quad 2 opponent at home in Texas A&M. After that, Georgia has a week off before playing another Quad 1 team on the road at LSU in Baton Rouge. Then, it is Florida at home.
Of Georgia's 11 remaining regular-season games, seven are of the Quad 1 variety. Three fall into the Quad 2 bucket. The only Quad 3 game Georgia has left is home vs. South Carolina on the last day of February. At 4-3 in SEC play, Georgia needs to carve out at least four more league wins. If they all come vs. Quad 2 and Quad 3 opponents, that will give the Bulldogs such an incredibly flimsy resume.
Thus, it is why it is imperative that Georgia can hold its own vs. Quad 1 opponents. With a 3-3 mark in that department so far, UGA is 2-0 at home, 1-2 away from home, and 0-1 in neutral-site games. It may be 4-0 in Quad 2 games, but the home loss to Ole Miss gives the Dawgs a bad 1-1 mark in Quad 3 games. In short, beating Tennessee and Texas A&M in succession may decide UGA's tourney fate.
For now, White cannot continue to get out-coached by a more savvy Barnes after what all transpired.