Georgia basketball returns to NCAA Tournament, will face St. Louis in first round

“Our program is in a really good place,” coach Mike White said. “We were really excited about the opportunity to come rebuild this thing. … We hope to be in this situation more often than not.”

The Bulldogs competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, but excitement still surrounded their most recent bid. A chorus of cheers could be heard across the hall from where the team watched the selection show as its name popped onto the screen.

“Everybody was ready to play,” junior guard Smurf Millender said. “We’re just happy to keep playing.”

Georgia, which won a program-record 22 games during the regular season, has not advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 24 years. The Bulldogs made it to the second round in only four of their 13 appearances, two of which were later vacated.

The Bulldogs aspire to change that, but will need to get past an explosive St. Louis team to do so.

“We’re playing a dangerous team,” White said. “And we’re pretty dangerous ourselves.”

The Billikens earned a No. 9 seed after winning 28 games — which tied the program record — and capturing a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title. St. Louis averages the 11th-most points per game in the country (87.2 PPG), while its nearly 51% field goal percentage ranks seventh.

“I know their offensive numbers usually are pretty impressive,” White said. “I’m just excited to get upstairs as soon as we’re done talking here and get to learn St. Louis as much as possible.”

The Bulldogs earned their bid with a strong finish in conference play. They won five of their final six SEC matchups, including against Kentucky, Texas and Alabama, all of whom received bids.

Georgia has never faced St. Louis in the postseason but holds a 2-0 record against the Billikens from a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010.

It’s a record the Bulldogs will look to improve on Thursday when they begin their run in the NCAA Tournament.