It’s been more struggles for the Hoop Dawgs as they suffer a three-game skid with losses to No. 22 Mississippi State, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 21 Missouri. It doesn’t get any easier as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country fall next on the schedule.
A little break leaves Georgia with no midweek game; however, Saturday, the Hoop Dawgs travel to the Jungle to take on the Bruce Pearl led No. 1 Tigers. Auburn has been a wagon all year, and in one of the most highly-anticipated college basketball games of recent memory, Auburn took down the formerly ranked No. 2 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last Saturday. It was the first ever No. 1 vs. No. 2 in-conference basketball game in SEC history, and the Tigers won it in Alabama’s place.
Auburn will surely have all the momentum in the world with one of the league’s most hostile home crowds behind them as they welcome the faltering Dawgs to town this upcoming Saturday. Georgia held it close with the Tigers in Athens in January as Auburn escaped an upset in Stegeman with a 70-68 win. Johni Broome, one of the nation’s best players, was out in the early-season matchup with an ankle injury. Now, he’s back and better than ever, averaging 18.1 points per game, 10.9 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game and 2.7 blocks per game (all team-leading statistics for the Tigers).
Following the Auburn challenge, Georgia comes back home to host the No. 2 Gators next Tuesday, another rematch from earlier this year. Florida beat their former coach and current Georgia head coach Mike White to a pulp in Gainesville in late January as the Gators toppled the Hoop Dawgs 89-59. It wasn’t pretty and Florida seems to have only gotten better…
So what can Georgia basketball do to make that late tournament push when all hope seems lost?
Well, for starters, an upset over either one of these teams would be massive and greatly help Georgia’s case for the dance, but it is highly unlikely to knock off either the Tigers or the Gators. Following the Florida game, the Hoop Dawgs close the season with a trip to Texas, a trip to South Carolina and the regular season finale against Vanderbilt in Stegeman. Texas and Vanderbilt are both tournament bound teams as we speak according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, but more so than the Tigers and Gators, these are far more winnable games for the Hoop Dawgs. All three opponents are unranked despite two of them having tournament hopes.
As Mike White and this Georgia squad gear up for the home stretch, closing out games is a must if these tournament hopes are feasible. Of the three recent losses to Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Missouri, Georgia held halftime leads on the Aggies and the Tigers: a 9-point margin at Texas A&M and a 3-point lead over Missouri. A 32-8 run in the first 12 minutes of the second half by the Aggies put the Hoop Dawgs down for good. Georgia failed to make a field goal in that span… second half blown lead. Up 41-38 at the half against Missouri, the Tigers mounted a decisive 15-0 run in the second half to once again quiet the Bulldogs… yet another blown lead.
The SEC happens to be the best conference in college basketball history as nine teams are currently ranked with 13 teams projected to make the dance. Just as White and his guys seem to be turning things around in Athens, the toughest conference schedule in history comes to town as well. It is not White’s fault, but in order to be competitive with these powerhouses that flood our schedule, closing out the second half is the No. 1 key to success.
Prior to Saturday’s loss, Lunardi had Georgia as a bubble team playing BYU in the “last four in” 11th seed play-in game. With Saturday’s loss, Georgia falls to No. 70 in Lunardi’s forecast, dropping the Hoop Dawgs to one of those “first four out” spots.
An upset would boost them majorly but three wins over those unranked opponents of Texas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt is the only path to the dance if the games to Auburn and Florida are dropped. It would put Georgia at 7-11 in SEC play and back in the bubble conversation. 8-10 in league play would almost certainly lock the Hoop Dawgs in the dance, but the aforementioned two upcoming games will be awfully challenging. Can they do it? We shall see…