It has come down to this for the Georgia Bulldogs: No matter what happens in the regular-season finale Saturday at LSU, they’ll be playing the “play-in” game as one of the bottom four seeds in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night in Nashville.
Even with an upset win over the Tigers at Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the Bulldogs are locked into 13th place in the league. That means for the season to extend beyond next week, they’ll have to win five games in five days.
It’s here that we must point out that Georgia (15-15, 5-12 SEC) hasn’t won five games in a row all season.
But, crazier things have happened. As in 2008, for instance. That was the year that the last-place Bulldogs rallied during a tornado-interrupted SEC Tournament in Atlanta to win four games in three days and take home the conference crown and the automatic bid that comes with it.
But Georgia’s not thinking about anything as lofty as a championship or tournament bid. The Bulldogs are thinking only about winning one more game, which in their case would continue their improvement upon last season, when they finished 11-21 overall and 2-16 in the SEC.
“It would be big, it really would,” coach Tom Crean said of finishing above .500. “You’re going after every win, obviously, but that would be big. … I put more focus on the fact we need to go beat LSU, rather than what the record would be. But in the whole scheme of things, to get back on a winning track, especially with the way we played the other night … would be good for us and continue to go forward.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a 68-54 loss to Florida in their regular-season home finale. Georgia led by as many as 13 points in first half, but were outscored by 15 in the final 10 minutes of play.
It was a disappointing effort for a few reasons. Georgia’s defense was extremely weak the final 30 minutes of the game. And another sellout crowd drawn to see what was expected to have been the final home game for Anthony “Ant Man” Edwards saw the nation’s top freshman instead make only three field goals in 37 minutes and commit three turnovers.
“I’m not big on how I did; I am always about my team,” said Edwards, who finished with 14 points and continues to lead the nation’s freshmen in scoring, at 19.6 per game. “I feel like my team is pushing me to become the best player I can be.”
Of course, Edwards is not the only freshman among the Bulldogs. There are eight others among the 10 newcomers that make up Crean’s second team at Georgia.
Crean acknowledged that the lack of maturity and toughness has been something he has battled all season.
“It’s awareness, it’s focus, it’s concentration,” Crean said. “It’s not so much about what you’re doing, it’s how well you’re doing it. … You’ve got to have that level of awareness, that level of ‘stick-to-itness,’ and so much of it is just experience.”
As usual, the Bulldogs will encounter a much more experienced team at LSU. The Tigers (20-10, 11-6) are led by senior Skylar Mays (16.6 ppg) and junior Javonte Smart (12.5), and they’re no doubt motivated about their postseason possibilities. The Tigers are 14-2 at home this season and in play for one of the first four seeds in the SEC Tournament and the double-bye that comes with that. They likely will play in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re extremely talented, and they keep putting athletes on the floor that are skilled,” Crean said. “I think the biggest thing is the rebounding. It always is with them.”
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