Only a couple of weeks ago the Georgia Bulldogs were squarely on the March Madness bubble. However, a decisive home win over the Alabama Crimson Tide and a come-from-behind road victory over Mississippi State to finish the conference slate put Mike White’s team squarely in the tournament. The question is, where?
Some bracketologists had the Dawgs as high as a #7 seed following the win in Starkville, but events elsewhere on the college hardwood seem to have pushed other teams ahead of them. That may turn out to be a bad break. ESPN for example has the Hoop Hounds at a #8 seed taking on a solid Ohio State team in the Greenville region. The winner of that match up would get a second round date with the top overall tournament seed, Duke. In the words of great basketball philosopher Jeffrey Lebowski, that’s a bummer dude.
On3 Sports’ latest projections have the Bulldogs and Buckeyes playing as well, but as a 7/10 matchup in the Houston. That same bracket has the hated Florida Gators as the top seed following their season-ending victory over the Kentucky Wildcats (what? Like that’s hard?).
HoopsHQ also has the Gators earning a top seed, but their UGA projection is also an interesting one. That site has the Dawgs a #8 seed traveling to Chicago to take on the always feisty Utah State Aggies. The winner would likely earn a second round matchup with #1 seed Michigan, playing in a city in which the Wolverines have a huge alumni presence and would likely enjoy a solid home court advantage. Again, do not want.
The bottom line for Bulldog fans is that Georgia could substantially increase its odds of a deep tournament run by having a solid showing in the SEC Tournament that tips off tomorrow, and in which the Dawgs are the 7 seed. A run to the tournament final could push Georgia into the top third of the region brackets, which allows you to avoid the #1 seeds and also can allow you to pick up a second round game against an underdog that has enough magic to slip through one game but not two.
Speaking of odds, you can find the odds for all the conference and March Madness action over at FanDuel, just remember to wager responsibly. Until later…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
