[su_spacer size=”20″] The Georgia Bulldogs’ 2015-16 Southeastern Conference slate was announced by the league office on Thursday evening. All 18 games, including five Saturday home dates at Stegeman Coliseum, will be televised on the SEC Network or the ESPN family of networks.[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’re excited to know who we’re going to play, where we’re going to play and when,” head coach Mark Fox said. “It feels a little bit more real when you finally get the schedule in your hands.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs will open league action at Florida on Jan. 2 in a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU. Georgia’s SEC home opener will be against Missouri on Jan. 6. Missouri and Ole Miss are two of five opponents the Bulldogs will face on a home-and-home basis, along with the previously announced trio of permanent two-time foes Auburn, Florida and South Carolina.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Following a Jan. 9 trip to Ole Miss, Georgia will host Tennessee and Texas A&M on Jan. 13 and 16, respectively. Additional Saturday home contests will be against Arkansas on Jan. 23, Auburn on Feb. 6, Ole Miss on Feb. 27 and Alabama on March 5 in the regular-season finale. Including non-conference games, the Bulldogs will have nine weekend home contests during the season.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I’m pleased that the nights that we have home games are going to be conducive to the Bulldog Nation coming out to see us,” Fox said. “Home court advantage is so important in college basketball. Last year, we obviously had it, and we need it again.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs’ other weekday home games are versus South Carolina on Feb. 2 and Florida on Feb. 16.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In addition to the trip to Gainesville, Georgia will travel to Ole Miss on Jan. 9, Missouri on Jan. 20, LSU on Jan. 26, Kentucky on Feb. 9, Mississippi State on Feb. 13, Vanderbilt on Feb. 20, Auburn on Feb. 24 and South Carolina on March 3.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Game times and television information for the Bulldogs’ non-conference games will be announced at a later date.
[su_spacer size=”40”] All 18 league games will be televised on the SEC Network of the ESPN family of networks; however, the originating network is set for only 11 games. The network for the seven remaining “flex” games will be announced 7-10 days prior to those contests. All of the games also will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia returns three starters from last year’s squad that finished 21-12 overall and 11-7 (t-3rd) in SEC play. The Bulldogs received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they dropped a 70-63 decision to Michigan State, an eventual Final Four participant. Senior guards Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann headline UGA’s returning starters. Mann became Georgia’s 45th 1,000-point scorer in the regular-season finale, and Gaines enters the season 110 points shy of reaching that milestone. The Bulldogs’ third “starter” is actually two juniors. Juwan Parker started the first 14 games of the season before being sidelined by an Achilles injury. J.J. Frazier started 10 games following Parker’s setback.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the third time in the program’s 107 seasons of competition. Georgia has won a combined 32 SEC games during the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns, the Bulldogs’ most-ever league victories in a three-year span.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “This is a brand new team,” Fox said. “Every year we start anew, and this group has to pay the price. We’ve got a lot of work in front of us. If we can just focus on getting a little bit better every day, doing things the right way, learning how to play the right way, then hopefully when SEC play comes in January, we’ll be ready.”