Georgia men’s basketball fans will have plenty of chances to see their team at Stegeman Coliseum next season.
The Bulldogs announced their non-conference schedule on Tuesday, and it features nine out of 11 games on its home court. Including the nine SEC home games, it will tie for the most scheduled home games in program history. (The other two years were 2008-09 and 2012-13.)
But head coach Mark Fox, whose team made the NCAA tournament largely on the strength of its schedule and RPI ranks, is also banking on good numbers for this year.
There are five games against other high-major conference teams: Home against Kansas State, Georgia Tech and Clemson, and at Seton Hall and Baylor.
When it came to the non-marquee opponents, Fox once again tried to schedule teams that project into the upper half of the RPI. In a release, Georgia said that the teams on its non-conference schedule had an average RPI rank of 115 last season, and nine of them finished in the top 153. The only team whose RPI was in the 200s, Winthrop, was 202.
That doesn’t automatically mean those teams will finish well in the RPI; last season, for instance, Georgia’s non-conference resume’ took a hit when Seton Hall, Colorado, Kansas State and Georgia Tech all struggled in conference play.
“Our goal was a non-conference schedule that would put us in a proper position with the strength of schedule numbers at the end of the year,” Fox said in a statement. “You never know what kind of season a team you play will have, but with the numbers from last year I think we’ve been able to establish the strength of schedule we need. It’s a little tougher numbers wise than it was a year ago. That’s important when you get to the month of March.”
Georgia will open the season on Nov. 13 against Chattanooga. This year’s game against Georgia Tech will be on Dec. 19, after serving as the season opener for both teams last season. Georgia will be looking to beat its in-state rival for the first time since 2011.
Here is the full non-conference schedule:
Fri., Nov. 13: Chattanooga
Fri., Nov. 20: Murray State
Wed., Nov. 25: High Point
Sat., Nov. 28: at Seton Hall
Tues., Dec. 1: Oakland
Fri., Dec. 4: Kansas State
Tues., Dec. 8: Winthrop
Sat., Dec. 19: Georgia Tech
Tues., Dec. 22: Clemson
Tues., Dec. 29: Robert Morris
Sat., Jan. 30: at Baylor
The SEC schedule has not been announced yet. But it is certain to feature home games with Auburn, Florida and South Carolina, as those three have been named as Georgia’s three new permanent opponents.
