For those college basketball zealots who may have been calendar-deprived over the weekend, something wonderful just happened.
It’s March.
With the regular season entering its final week, leagues across the country are in full jockey-mode for seeding in conference tournaments. Locally, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State all have marquee games in the closing days and if Tech’s postseason aspirations have suffered, both UGA and GSU are in the thick of NCAA qualification sweepstakes.
How this for the last week?
Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Tech hosts No. 15 North Carolina.
Tuesday, 9 p.m.: Georgia hosts No. 1 and undefeated Kentucky.
Saturday, 2 p.m.: Georgia State hosts rivial Georgia Southern.
Is this the greatest month or what?
Georgia: The Bulldogs enter the final week with more work to do. At least that is the team's mentality as it prepares for the nationally-televised game against Kentucky (29-0, 16-0 SEC) and then the season finale Saturday at Auburn (12-17, 4-12). Georgia (19-9, 10-6) has already lost to both teams.
The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie for fourth in the SEC with LSU and Ole Miss. Georgia holds the tiebreaker over the Rebels, whom they’ve beaten twice.
The best Georgia can do is tie Arkansas for second and land the No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament, which would come with the coveted “double-bye.” But there are advantages even for a No. 6 seed. It would have the Bulldogs facing the No. 11-vs.-14 winner in the second round and put them in the bracket opposite of UK.
By all accounts, the Bulldogs have done enough good work to expect an NCAA bid. Their RPI after Saturday’s 68-44 win over lowly Missouri actually fell slightly but remained “off the bubble” in the range of the low-30s, depending on which service is doing the rating. Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and Jerry Palm (CBS Sports) have Georgia at No. 31 while the NCAA and Yahoo have it at No. 33. A loss to Kentucky would not likely drop the Bulldogs very far, though another loss to Auburn could be a damaging blow.
The SEC tournament runs March 11-15 in Nashville. CHIP TOWERS
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets will complete its regular season Tuesday against North Carolina, which will be senior night for center Demarco Cox and forwards Robert Sampson and Aaron Peek.
At 3-14 in ACC play, the Yellow Jackets are locked into one of the four bottom seeds for the conference tournament March 10-14 in Greensboro, N.C., as are Boston College, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. They will play the tournament’s two first-round games March 10.
Going into the Demon Deacons’ Sunday night game against Pittsburgh, Wake Forest could clinch the No. 11 seed with one win in its final three games. Regardless, the No. 12-14 seeds will be determined in the final week.
Tech’s main priority would be somehow finding a way to upset the Tar Heels, who crushed Tech 89-60 Feb. 21 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Now at 0-10 in league games decided by five points or fewer or in overtime, Tech needs a confidence boost in the worst way. KEN SUGIURA
Georgia State: Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Monroe are tied atop the Sun Belt with 13-5 conference records.
Deciding the regular-season champ and the top seed in the conference tournament in New Orleans will be solved if the Panthers can defeat the Warhawks on Thursday in Monroe, La., and the Eagles at the GSU Sports Arena on Saturday. With two wins, Georgia State will repeat as champ and earn the tournament’s top seed. The two highest seeds earn byes to the semifinals of the tournament.
The Sun Belt tournament runs March 12-15.
If Georgia State splits its remaining two games, things can become more complicated depending upon how Louisiana-Monroe and Georgia Southern do in their remaining game. But the Panthers would still clinch one of the top two seeds. If Georgia State goes 0-2, things can get really weird.
A Sun Belt tournament championship gets the Panthers into the NCAAs. DOUG ROBERSON
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