NCAA Tournament Hopes Dwindle for Georgia and Georgia Tech

Georgia and Georgia Tech, the two NCAA Tournament-hopeful teams from the state of Georgia, face crucial challenges in their respective conference tournaments. Georgia finished the regular season on a positive note, beating Tennessee 77-72 on Saturday, but still needs to win the tournament to have a chance at a Big Dance invitation. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech closed out the regular season with a 76-62 loss at Clemson and may have hurt its chances by winning the tiebreaker with Florida State.

Key Takeaways:

• Georgia has a lot of work to do to make the NCAA field, needing to win the conference tournament to have a glimmer of hope.
• The Bulldogs will face Mississippi State (15-14) in the first round of the tournament, followed by a potential matchup with South Carolina (21-6) or Mississippi (21-5) in the semifinals.
• Georgia Tech, despite finishing 17-12 overall, may not receive an NCAA bid, which would mark the fourth time in five seasons the Jackets have fallen short.
• The ACC tournament will feature a new format this year, including two games on Thursday, and will determine the complete field for the NCAA men's tournament.
• The recruitment process involves many variables, including team performance, conference standings, and tournament performance.

Statistics:

• Georgia finished the regular season with a 15-13 record.
• Georgia Tech finished 17-12 overall and tied for sixth in the ACC with Florida State at 6-10.
• Mississippi State finished the regular season with a 15-14 record.
• South Carolina finished 21-6 overall in the regular season.
• Mississippi finished 21-5 overall in the regular season.
• Kentucky finished 26-4 overall in the regular season.

Sources:

• Tony Barnhart, various conference records, NCAA Tournament Selection Committee NYT