Six of the 10 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball teams that earned postseason bids during 2017-18 will visit Stegeman Coliseum during the upcoming campaign. The league office announced each team’s home and away opponents for the 2018-19 campaign on Tuesday.
“We will certainly have our hands full for sure,” head coach Tom Crean said. “The energy of our team and the energy of our fans has been impressive since the day I arrived in Athens. That partnership will become even more important when we begin playing games. For us to get to a championship level, we need everyone – our players, our staff, our UGA students and everyone in the Bulldog Nation – to be on the same page and excited about Georgia Basketball. We all need to work together to make Stegeman Coliseum as loud and as intimidating as it possibly can be.”
Georgia will host four 2018 NCAA Tournament teams – Auburn, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri – as well as NIT participants LSU and Mississippi State. In addition, the Bulldogs will entertain Texas, a fifth NCAA qualifier, as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Bulldogs also will host Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Georgia’s SEC road games will be at Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Game dates, times and TV assignments will be released at a later date.
The 2018-19 campaign will be Georgia’s first under Crean, who has averaged 20 wins over 18 combined seasons at Marquette and Indiana. Crean’s teams have reached postseason play 13 times, including nine NCAA Tournament bids and an appearance in the 2003 Final Four.
This season, the Bulldogs will return a trio starters – seniors William “Turtle” Jackson and Derek Ogbeide and sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds. Six other returning letterwinners have earned starting experience – seniors Mike Edwards and E’Torrion Wilridge, juniors Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris, and sophomores Nicolas Claxton and Teshaun Hightower. Crean also will welcome a celebrated trio of in-state freshmen – Tye Fagan from Thomaston, Amanze Ngumezi from Savannah, and JoJo Toppin from Norcross.
The Georgia Bulldog Club’s 2018-19 Basketball Enhancement Fund (BEF) campaign is currently underway and runs through Aug. 1. Fans who are renewing or interested in making new contributions in support of Georgia Men’s Basketball can visit georgiadogs.com/bef18 or contact The Georgia Bulldog Club by phone at 877-423-2947.
BEF contributions help provide essential support for student-athlete scholarships, academic support, training and nutrition, travel assistance, recruiting, and equipment upgrades. BEF donors enjoy access to exclusive men’s basketball benefits including renewable season tickets, game day parking, and hospitality, postseason ticket request opportunities, an invitation to watch team practice along with a postseason team banquet invite. The minimum donation requirement to qualify for renewable season tickets is $150 per seat. The Georgia Bulldog Club encourages fans to help make an impact by making a new contribution, giving 110 percent or upgrading your membership to the next level for the 2018-19 season.