Ad Disclosure
Georgia isn’t ranked, and even with Tuesday night’s gritty 73-64 road victory over South Carolina, the Bulldogs are only 7-10 in the SEC.
But a deeper look into Georgia’s plight says this: The Bulldogs have weathered the gauntlet in a ridiculously deep conference that was tougher than any in college basketball this season, and on Tuesday they didn’t yield when the home team was making a run at them down the stretch.
And with this victory that got Georgia to 19-11 overall this season, the Bulldogs might have just nailed down an NCAA Tournament berth with 1 regular-season game and the SEC Tournament to spare. That’s what ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi believes, as Lunardi said at halftime of the game that Georgia might only need 1 more win to snatch yet another NCAA berth for the mighty SEC.
Well, the Bulldogs got that 1 win on Tuesday night, thanks to a balanced offensive effort led by Silas Demary Jr.’s 16 points. Demary added 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Blue Cain chipped in 14 points and Asa Newell scored 11 points as Georgia overcame a shoddy 5-for-18 shooting night from 3-point territory.
The Bulldogs bullied South Carolina on the glass, outrebounding the Gamecocks 37-23. They also smothered South Carolina defensively, holding the Gamecocks to 37.3% shooting from the field. Collin Murray-Boyles scored a game-high 24 points for South Carolina (12-18, 2-15 SEC), but Georgia shut down everybody else and had just enough to escape Columbia with a very important victory.
The Bulldogs, who’ve won 3 in a row during this season-defining stretch drive, will go for their 20th victory of the season on Saturday back at home against Vanderbilt. Tip-off is at noon ET on ESPNU.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
