The Georgia Bulldogs were eliminated from the SEC Tournament after just one game. Georgia will have to try to get back on track in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs remain a March Madness lock, but Georgia did not do itself favors for their NCAA Tournament path with their SEC Tournament loss to Ole Miss.
USA TODAY Sports projects that Georgia will be a No. 9 seed in March Madness. The Bulldogs were as high as a No. 7 seed in many projections after winning five of their final six regular season games. However, losing to Ole Miss is a blow for the Bulldogs’ March Madness seeding.
The Bulldogs are almost certainly going to be a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so Georgia will face a team that achieved a similar season to UGA. If Georgia wins in the first-round, then the Bulldogs would likely play a No. 1 seed. Georgia can’t look past the first-round after last season’s disaster against Gonzaga.
4 potential NCAA Tournament opponents for Georgia basketball
Clemson Tigers
Conference: ACC
Record: 24-9 (12-6 ACC)
Georgia is projected to play Clemson in USA TODAY’s bracketology. The Bulldogs and Tigers already met once this season with Clemson beating Georgia 97-94 in overtime of the Charleston Classic. Clemson’s leading scorer is RJ Godfrey, a Georgia transfer, so there would be plenty of storylines for a Georgia-Clemson matchup. Clemson has a strong defense and only allows 66.5 points per game.
Villanova Wildcats
Conference: Big East
Record: 24-8 (15-5 Big East)
Villanova finished third in Big East play this season, but fell to Georgetown in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats went 0-4 against the Big East’s two best teams (St. John’s and UConn), but took care of business in most of their other conference games.
TCU Horned Frogs
Conference: Big 12
Record: 22-11 (11-7 Big 12)
ESPN’s bracketology has Georgia facing TCU in the first-round. The Horned Frogs won eight of their final nine regular season games in Big 12 play. TCU has notched impressive wins over No. 4 Florida, No. 14 Texas Tech and No. 7 Iowa State. However, the Horned Frogs suffered an early loss to New Orleans and lost four games in a row at one point during Big 12 play. Which version of TCU would Georgia get?
Saint Louis Billikens
Conference: Atlantic 10
Record: 27-4 (15-3 Atlantic 10)
Saint Louis started out the season 24-1, but has struggled more in recent weeks. The Billikens still played well enough to win the Atlantic 10 during the regular season and should make March Madness regardless of how their conference tournament goes.
Center Robbie Avila leads Saint Louis in scoring with 12.6 points and assists with 4.1 per game. Saint Louis is a high-scoring team (87.8 points per game), but is not as battle-tested as some of Georgia’s other potential March Madness opponents.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: UGA basketball’s potential NCAA Tournament foes