Georgia Bulldogs news: Would UGA make 96-team tourney, Amarius Mims fully healthy, more

The idea of the NCAA men’s basketball Tournament expanding from a field of 68 to a field of 96 has been floated from time to time, but on Saturday, ESPN’s Jay Williams reignited the discussion on College Gameday prior to UConn’s matchup with Villanova. So, would the Bulldogs even make it to an extremely diluted March Madness?

After a one-point road loss to LSU, Georgia is 1-6 in Quad 2 games and 2-7 in Quad 1 matchups. The Bulldogs came into the night at No. 97 in the Net rankings which would leave them off the bubble, though not by a lot. 

In that case, bubble teams like Cornell and George Mason are 94th and 89th respectively in the Net rankings. 

All of Georgia’s NCAA Tournament hopes in a 68-team field hinge on winning the SEC Tournament and a loss to LSU didn’t change that. Even winning out against Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and No. 11 Auburn won’t be enough for the Bulldogs to work their way onto the bubble. In a 96-team field, they’d still be very much alive. 

Amarius Mims fully healthy to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine 

Last year, when Broderick Jones was selected 14th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was the first Georgia offensive lineman taken in the first round since Andrew Thomas went No. 4 overall in 2020. It wasn’t a long drought, but this year, the Bulldogs will hopefully build a streak of first-rounders. 

Amarius Mims is the most impressive physical specimen among the offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the NFL Scouting Combine will be crucial for his draft stock because he only played seven games in 2023. 

The 6-foot-7 340-pound right tackle did play 385 snaps over 14 games in 2022 as a sophomore and only allowed four total pressures, but in his final collegiate year, he couldn’t stay healthy. Mims was hampered by an ankle injury he suffered in Georgia’s conference opener against South Carolina, but returned for Weeks 11-13 and played 11 snaps against Alabama in the conference championship game. 

ESPN’s Jordan Reid reported that Mims is healthy heading into Indy and will participate in all on-field testing and drills.

More college sports news

On Tuesday, UMass announced that it would be joining the MAC for the 2025-26 season. UMass will be leaving the Atlantic 10 and like almost every college in the country, was motivated to find a more secure home for its football program. 

Now, with the Minutemen joining a football conference, Notre Dame and Connecticut are the only two remaining independents in college football.