We have an established editorial policy surrounding Georgia Bulldog basketball on this site. We concede that it is an activity which occurs. We concede that all other things being equal we want the Red and Black to win the basketball games they play.
But much like a small, timid forest creature we have learned that Bulldog basketball success is not something to be acknowledged lest it get scared and skitter away. Because every time we feel that Mike White’s squad has turned a corner, and is headed in the right direction, well, bad things happen. I’m not saying the bad things happen because we’re writing about Bulldog basketball. But I am saying that at a certain point a metric ton of correlation is virtually indistinguishable from causation. Why risk it?
Well, I’m afraid we’ve reached the point at which we can be silent no longer.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Georgia Bulldogs have themselves a tournament-quality basketball team.
Over the weekend the Hoop Hounds strengthened their NCAA Tournament position with a 79-68 win against Vanderbilt, completing the regular season on a four-game winning streak. That streak is the longest in the SEC, and it delivered the Bulldogs their 20th win of the season (20-11, 8-10 SEC).
It’s only the sixth 20 win season in program history, and it came despite a mid-season slump that made Bulldogs fans again despair that they would find themselves at the bottom of the SEC standings when all was said and done. Only three weeks ago I remarked to another writer on the site that the Bulldogs had become the South Carolina Gamecock football of SEC basketball: a little better every season but still 3-5 in the SEC. But then, this team woke up at the most opportune time.
They finished off the regular season by doing the opposite of what hadn’t worked for so much of the conference slate. Against Vandy, Georgia came alive after halftime. It was quite a surprise for fans who have come to dread second halves in the Stege or on the road as they watched Coach White’s team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Instead on this afternoon the ‘Dawgs surged ahead with a decisive 15-4 run early in the second half. Blue Cain initiated the momentum shift with a layup, followed by three-pointers from Dylan James and Silas Demary Jr. to build a 51-44 lead.
Vanderbilt responded with an 8-0 run, but Dakota Leffew broke the dry spell with a crucial three pointer. The Bulldogs then drew an handful of key fouls to go to the line and extend their lead.
Silas Demary and Asa Newell led the Red and Black with 15 points each, with Demary adding 3 steals.
The Bulldogs now enter the SEC Tournament as the 11th seed, facing 14 seed Oklahoma in the first round on Wednesday night. The ‘Dawgs defeated the Sooners 72-62 in January behind big nights from Leffew and Newell.
Blogging the Bracket’s Chris Dobbertean pegs the Hoop Hounds as a #9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, facing off in the first round against the 8th seeded Kansas Jayhawks. That’s certainly not a gimme game, and a first round exit wouldn’t be unheard of for a Bulldog team that hasn’t won a March Madness game since 2002 (a victory over Murray State that was later vacated following the Jim Harrick scandal).
But the Bulldogs’ impending return to the tournament for the first time since 2015 feels a little like proof of concept for Mike White. There’s still a long way to go in terms of player retention and roster-building. But there’s some real excitement around this program. Even a longtime skeptic like me can see that.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!