Tough road challenges ahead for basketball Dogs

Jan. 11; Alabama; 4 p.m.; WPCH

Jan. 14; at Florida; 7 p.m.; ESPNU

Jan. 18; Arkansas; 1:30 p.m.; WPCH

Jan. 22; South Carolina; 8 p.m.; WPCH

Jan. 25; at Kentucky; 1:30 p.m.; WPCH

Jan. 29; Vanderbilt; 7 p.m.; CSS

Feb. 1; at Auburn; 1:30 p.m.; WPCH

Feb. 6; LSU; 7 p.m.; ESPN or ESPN2

Feb. 8; Texas A&M; TBD; CSS

Feb. 12; at Mississippi State; 9 p.m.; FSN

Feb. 15; Ole Miss; 4 p.m.; FSN

Feb. 18; at Tennessee; 9 p.m.; ESPNU

Feb. 22; at South Carolina; 1:30 p.m.; WPCH

Feb. 25; Missouri; 9 p.m.; ESPNU

March 1; at Arkansas; 4 p.m.; WPCH

March 5; Mississippi State; 7 p.m.; CSS

March 8; LSU; 5 p.m.; FSN

The SEC released the league’s men’s basketball schedule Tuesday, and there wasn’t a lot for the Georgia Bulldogs and their fans to get excited about.

The Bulldogs face their most intriguing opponents on the road and have a relatively bland slate of home games. Neither Florida, Kentucky nor Tennessee plays in Athens this season. Georgia’s home lineup includes Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs open the SEC schedule at Missouri on Jan. 8.

The Bulldogs haven’t announced their nonconference schedule, but they are known to have at least eight dates set. They play home games against Wofford (Nov. 8), Georgia Tech (Nov. 15), Lipscomb (Dec. 14) and Western Carolina (Dec. 21). Away from home, they play Davidson in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 21 (the first of three games in the Charleston Classic) and at George Washington on Jan. 3.

The Bulldogs return three starters from last season’s 15-17 squad (9-9 SEC), but lost would-be-junior Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the NBA draft.