Georgia Bulldogs
SEC (21-11, 11-7)
Georgia has been inconsistent this season, but they have done enough to put together a pretty good season. Mixed in with home losses against Auburn and South Carolina are wins at Alabama and Mississippi. In fact, all of that happened in a stretch of four games in late February. If the right team shows up to the postseason, the Bulldogs have the talent to be dangerous.
Big Wins: 2/11 at Texas A&M (62-53), 2/21 at Alabama (66-65), 2/25 at Mississippi (76-72)
Bad Losses: 11/14 at Georgia Tech (73-80), 1/31 at South Carolina (50-67), 2/14 Auburn (68-69)
Coach: Mark Fox
Why They Can Surprise:
Coach Mark Fox relies heavily on his usual starting five. Up front Marcus Thornton has had another big year and he leads the team with 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The more the offense works through Thornton, the better. Nemanja Djurisic, another senior, is a double digit scorer and compliments Thornton effectively. On the perimeter, Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines play a starring role. Mann is a do-it-all 6-5 guard who is a huge reason why this team gets to the charity stripe so often. Sophomore J.J. Frazier has been aggressive attacking the basket as well and will either get fouled, find a teammate or finish himself. Frazier is also a dangerous three-point shooter, so the opposition cannot drop back and simply stop him from driving. With five capable scorers, Georgia can be a difficult team to defend. If they play smart and look for the mismatch, the Bulldogs can beat just about anybody.
Why They Can Disappoint:
However, this team does not always share the ball effectively. While the ratio is improved over last season, the Bulldogs still do not have as many assists as they should for a team that scores about 70 points per game. That means they do not work the ball around as much as they could to take advantage of any potential mismatches they have. Even with all of the scorers, this is not a team that can catch up quickly. They do not take many three-pointers, nor do they grab a bunch of steals and get easy buckets the other way. But as long as the Bulldogs are playing their game and not falling too far behind, they can beat some very good teams.
Probable Starters:
J.J. Frazier, Sophomore, Guard, 9.8 ppg, 3.3 apg, 3.8 rpg
Kenny Gaines, Junior, Guard, 11.6 ppg, 1.7 apg, 3.5 rpg
Charles Mann, Junior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 5.0 rpg
Nemanja Djurisic, Senior, Forward, 11.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Marcus Thornton, Senior, Forward, 12.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Cameron Forte, Junior, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Kenny Paul Geno, Sophomore, Forward, 1.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg
Yante Maten, Freshman, Center, 5.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.8 (139th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.4 (123, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.7 (159, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.8 (18, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.7 (238, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.3 (171, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.9 (183, 9)
Rebound Margin: 4.5 (48, 3)
Assists Per Game: 12.7 (168, 9)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.0 (212, 9)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NIT First Round win over Vermont
2014 NIT Second Round loss to Louisiana Tech
2011 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Washington
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Xavier
2007 NIT First Round win over Fresno State
2007 NIT Second Round loss to Air Force
2004 NIT First Round loss to Iowa State
2002 NCAA Round of 64 win over Murray State
2002 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Southern Illinois
*all team stats through 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
