Georgia Bulldogs rise in RPI rankings; still on outside of bubble talk

Feb 25, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox reacts to the game action against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday afternoon brought another very solid win for Mark Fox and the Georgia Bulldogs basketball team, and with that, there are ever-increasing questions about whether the team from Athens is “on the bubble”. Unfortunately, things don’t look particularly positive at this point on Monday morning.

Georgia has risen to #70 in the latest RPI rankings, and while that is a considerable bump from their consistent perch in the mid-80’s, it probably isn’t enough to do much damage. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has released his latest “Bracketology” as well, and the Bulldogs don’t place in the field (not a surprise), but also won’t be found in the “first four out” or the “next four out”.

Translation? Georgia isn’t even in the top-8 teams who are out of the current field. Throw in the fact that the Bulldogs receive a double-bye in the SEC Tournament (which is actually a bad thing unless they win the whole thing), and the dream scenario of reaching the field without winning the conference is feeling grim. They will take on either Ole Miss (best-case scenario for positioning), Vanderbilt, or Mississippi State on Friday night, and from there, a match-up with Kentucky in the semifinals looms enormous.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats haven’t done their part in making that an “attractive” victory for Georgia. Kentucky has slipped to 19th in the latest RPI, and at 22-9, a neutral court victory over the Wildcats likely wouldn’t place UGA in the field of 68. That sets up Georgia for the more desperate need to win the SEC Tournament, and to be honest, it’s time to start rooting for Florida to lose before the title game.