March is upon us, Chris Dobbertean’s latest NCAA Tournament bracket projection has been posted, and the Georgia Bulldogs remain among the eleven seeds on the S-curve. As before, I’m not convinced this is fair, given the Fox Hounds’ schedule (more about which forthwith), but Chris is offering his unbiased view, his Gainesville pedigree notwithstanding.
Georgia is one of the next four in after the last four in, which is another way of saying that the Hoop Dogs are one of the last teams to make the field without having to go through a play-in game to get there. Chris currently has the Red and Black opening in the Tulsa Pod of the West Region against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Georgia’s resume includes losses to the second-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish; the third-seeded Florida Gators; the fifth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Xavier Musketeers; the sixth-seeded Temple Owls; and the tenth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. The Bulldogs have no losses to teams that are not projected to be ten seeds or higher in the tournament, and the Red and Black have only one loss to a team not projected to be a six seed or higher . . . and that one loss was by two points on a blown officiating call.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have beaten the fifth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, the tenth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, and the twelfth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes and UAB Blazers. Following tomorrow night’s game against the LSU Tigers, the Classic City Canines will close out the regular season against the Alabama Crimson Tide, who presently are listed among the first four out of the field of 68. In short, Georgia can do little at this point to bolster its tournament resume, but, given the caliber of the opposition to which the Bulldogs have lost, I question whether an eleven seed is a fair measure of the Athenians’ quality as a club.
Is it just me? Do you think that, barring a loss on Wednesday night, Georgia will have earned better than an eleven seed, or does that seem about right to you?
Go ‘Dawgs!