March Madness Bracketology Predictions Show Good News for Georgia Basketball
The Georgia Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team was trending in the wrong direction before Tuesday. But that’s no longer the case. Georgia defeated the No. 3-ranked Florida Gators 88-83. With the victory, the Bulldogs significantly increased their chances of dancing in March. According to the ESPN Analytics Forecast, Georgia has a 37% chance of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. “With their NCAA hopes very much on the line Tuesday — they would have dropped to 15% in the ESPN forecast with a loss — the Bulldogs came out as if they knew that against Florida, building a huge early lead to eventually hold on and beat the No. 3 Gators,” ESPN’s Neil Paine wrote. “The victory ended a four-game skid (as well as a stretch of nine losses in 11 games), which had left the Dawgs no longer the near-certain inclusion they used to be.” In addition to the victory against Florida, the Bulldogs earned an impressive resume-building win versus St. John’s in November.
Georgia improved to 5-10 in the SEC with its victory against Florida. The Bulldogs will face another SEC team trying to build a stronger bracketology resume in the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.
The Georgia-Texas matchup will tip at 8 pm ET in Austin, Tx. on Saturday.
Georgia shakes up the bubble and the top of the bracket with SEC upset in Athens
The Georgia Bulldogs entered Tuesday night on the outside looking in according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. However, after head coach Mike White pulled off an 88-83 win over No. 3 Florida, his former program, in Athens, the Bulldogs will almost certainly make the jump from the “First Four Out” to the “First Four In” when Lunardi makes his updates.
White’s Dawgs were led by sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. who finished the night with 21 points, but sophomore wing Blue Cain closed out the upset with a dagger three in the final minute.
Lunardi currently has four SEC teams on the bubble, so the Bulldogs could take the place of John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks, or bump out Porter Moser’s Oklahoma Sooners from their spot in the Big Dance. However, the Dawgs may just join the group of 13 SEC teams currently in the tournament according to Lunardi, already the most of any conference in the country.
Georgia now owns wins over Florida, Kentucky, and St. John’s. That’s a strong resume for a team that’s on the bubble. Bulldogs hold off UF in Athens.
Along with likely putting the most teams into the tournament, the SEC will almost certainly hog the top seeds in March Madness. Auburn is poised to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are unlikely to be knocked off the one-line even if they stumble down the stretch. Along with Auburn, Lunardi also featured Alabama and the Florida Gators as one-seeds in his latest bracket release. Florida may fall off the one-line just a day after sliding from No. 2 in the AP Poll to No. 3 behind Duke, Lunardi’s other one-seed.
According to Lunardi, Iowa State, Houston, Michigan State, and Tennessee would be the candidates to replace the Gators if Georgia’s upset win does shake up the top of the bracket.
