Georgia basketball was riding high after making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in a row. That is something Georgia hasn't done in over two decades, and after setting a program record for regular season wins in a season Mike White was being praised for taking the Bulldogs' program to heights fans have only ever dreamed of.
But all it took was a few minutes for all of that goodwill to be lost indefinitely.
Mike White may never recover from humiliating NCAA Tournament loss
Georgia entered their NCAA Tournament matchup against Saint Louis as small betting favorites. That gave fans hope that this would be the year they finally won an NCAA Tournament game, but after the first few minutes of the game it was clear that wasn't going to happen.
Saint Louis immediately jumped out to an early lead, and that lead kept growing and growing. Georgia was down 49-32 at the half and then let Saint Louis open the second half on a 18-0 run. The game was more than over at this point and resulted in a 102-77 defeat.
Most Georgia fans would admit that making the NCAA Tournament is good enough. Had UGA lost a close game to Saint Louis fans probably wouldn't be feeling that upset about the result. But getting blown out by a team they were equal to on paper is as bad as it gets.
This loss does more damage to Georgia's program then ending their season. What recruit will want to play for Georgia after witnessing them get blown out in the NCAA Tournament two years in a row? Who will want to come to Athens after seeing the complete lack of effort on display for 40 minutes?
This was a fun little run of making it to the Big Dance two years in a row, but a program that has seen some very dark times somehow let Mike White make their reputation even worse even after making the NCAA Tournament two years in a row.