The Georgia women’s basketball team is accustomed to getting into the NCAA Tournament. In fact, only Tennessee, which has played in all 33 women’s tournaments, has been invited more than the Lady Dogs’ 31 times.
So UGA was neither surprised nor intimidated by their selection Monday as the No. 8 seed and being placed in the same bracket as UConn, which will be playing on its home floor. Georgia (20-11) will open against ninth-seeded St. Joseph’s (22-9).
“Who wouldn’t want to get a crack at them?” said guard Khallidah Miller, a senior from Atlanta who will be playing in her fourth consecutive. “They’re a really good team, a 1 seed and they’re going be playing at home. There’s nothing like playing against a team in their place and being able to pull out a win. I think we’re capable of doing that if we play to the best of our ability. In fact, I know we can.”
Just last year, the Lady Dogs knocked off top-seeded Stanford on their way to the Elite Eight. Georgia had a late lead on California before getting knocked off in overtime to narrowly miss a sixth Final Four appearance.
But there was some question late in the year whether the Lady Dogs would make it 20 tournaments in a row this year. They were rebuilding this year had to rally toward the end of the season to become one of the eight teams from the SEC, the nation’s top RPI-rated conference.
“We felt confident we’d be in,” Georgia coach Andy Landers in. “I suspected we’d be a middle seed and when you’re one of the middle seeds, it so happens you’re going to be paired with one of the tournament favorites. In order to avoid that, you’ve got to get your team to play better.”
Georgia traditionally has played deep into brackets. The Bulldogs have advanced to the “Sweet 16” round 20 times, the “Elite Eight” on 11 occasions and reached the Final Four five times. Georgia also finished as NCAA runner-up in both 1985 and 1996.
Landers was asked if his team’s annual success is taken for granted.
“In any sport, if you achieve at a high level, you’ve set the bar and that’s the way you’ll be measured from that point forward,” he said. “People expect us to go to the Final Four. I’m good with that; I’m comfortable with that. … I also understand when you do that you create a bit of a monster and you have to feed the thing.”
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