For the first time in five years, Georgia basketball will watch the opening round of the SEC Tournament from the comfort of its couch.
The Bulldogs earned the No. 7 seed in the bracket, their highest seeding since 2016 and first opening-round bye since 2021. Georgia will play the winner of No. 10 Texas and No. 15 Ole Miss at 7 p.m. Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Just figuring out who the heck we’re going to play,” Georgia coach Mike White said of his approach to the week. “Whoever that opponent is, we’ll lock in and do the best we can do.”
Should Georgia advance, it would face No. 2 Alabama, which the Bulldogs beat in their final home game of the regular season. Georgia last won a second-round matchup in 2018 and has not advanced past the quarterfinals in 10 years. The Bulldogs have only won the SEC Tournament twice, with their most recent title coming in 2008.
“We’ll get some rest,” White said. “It’ll give us an opportunity with a little bit more time than normal to where we can focus on ourselves to a certain extent as well.”
Georgia faced both of its potential second-round foes this season. The Bulldogs fell in overtime to Ole Miss 97-95 at Stegeman Coliseum and split their series with Texas, dropping an 87-67 road contest before earning a 91-80 victory at home.
The latter contributed to a strong stretch for Georgia, as it finished the year winning five of its final six conference games.
“A healthy locker room with really good guys that enjoy each other and that have resilience through ups and downs,” White said of Georgia’s finish that led to a 10-8 record in SEC play, its first winning conference mark in 10 years. “It’s nice to be playing better this time of year, but you’re only as good as your last day too.”
The Bulldogs, who finished with a program-record 22 wins during the regular season, are in good standing to earn their second consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament, but a strong performance at the SEC Tournament could improve their seeding.
ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi had Georgia listed as a No. 8 seed in his latest bracketology predictions, slotting the Bulldogs in the Greenville, South Carolina, site along with Duke, Ohio State and Maryland, Baltimore County.
The official NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed Sunday.
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