The Georgia men’s basketball team (11-20) begins its journey through the SEC Tournament Wednesday against the Missouri Tigers (14-16) at 7:00 pm. The Bulldogs open up play in the first round of the competition for the second straight season after only getting two wins in conference play. Georgia will have the No. 13 seed for this year’s bracket while the Tigers get the No. 12.
Below, we will outline the hypothetical path to cutting down the nets and clinching an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament for Coach Tom Crean and the ‘Hoop Dawgs’.
To start off, Georgia must beat Missouri on Wednesday which will be a tall task after falling to the Tigers at home on senior night last week by 30. If the Bulldogs are able to get past Missouri they will face Auburn (22-9) at 3:00 pm on Thursday. Though Georgia went 0-2 against Auburn this season, the last game came down to the final possession.
If the Bulldogs are able to keep their season alive through two days of competition they will face South Carolina (16-15) on Friday at 3:00 pm. Georgia also went 0-2 against South Carolina this year and the chances of reaching the semifinals are rather slim. However, we will keep going as if the Bulldogs were to advance.
Saturday, a gassed Georgia team would face the winner of LSU’s (26-5) quarterfinal matchup against Arkansas (17-14) or Florida (17-14). The Bulldogs went a combined 1-4 against these opponents and after three days of play, it would take a 2008-like miracle to reach the finals.
If lady luck is on its side, Georgia lines up to play the bottom half of the bracket on championship Sunday. The likely opponents would be Kentucky (26-5), Tennessee (27-4) or one of the Mississippi’s (Ole Miss 20-11, Miss State 22-9).
To simplify things, the full bracket for the tournament can be found below, courtesy of the SEC.
Basically, Georgia must win five games in five days to qualify for this year’s NCAA Tournament. Even a loss on Sunday would mean the Dawgs do not make the postseason this year since they have a losing record.
Though a berth in the tournament is more than a long shot, it’s always fun to dream. Buckle up folks, the five-day roller coaster is about to begin!
