Georgia Bulldogs basketball: 20 wins still possible?
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs won their 10th game Wednesday night. Now that the Dawgs can win on the road, is 20 wins still a realistic goal for this year’s team?
Entering the 2015-16 NCAA season, the Georgia Bulldogs had the makings of a team that could win 20 games for the third consecutive year under head coach Mark Fox. In three of Fox’s six previous seasons in Athens, the Dawgs won at least 20 games, making the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and in 2015.
After playing the strongest non-conference slate of games, Georgia seemed like a team that belonged in the NCAA Tournament again in 2016 with a strong RPI and 7-3 record before beginning SEC play. However, UGA has struggled to win away from Stegeman Coliseum (1-3) and sit at .500 with a 3-3 record so far in SEC play. Is it still realistic to think that this team can for sure win at 20 games for the third season in a row?
In Georgia’s first 16 games this season, only thrice have the Dawgs lost convincingly (@Seton Hall, @Florida, Texas A&M). Their three other losses to Chattanooga, Kansas State and Ole Miss were all by one possession. So UGA could conceivably be 13-3 (4-2) on the year had they have closed games better.
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However with only 13 regular season games remaining and maybe a few tournament games if they are lucky, it’s obvious that the Georgia Bulldogs have to become more consistent in SEC play if they want to win 20 games again in 2015-16.
UGA still has to play at least three more ranked teams this year in South Carolina (twice), @Kentucky, and @Baylor in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. With the way the Georgia Bulldogs looked against then No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday, UGA will be lucky to win maybe one or two of those tough games.
What the Georgia Bulldogs need to have happen to get to 20 wins is to have both Yante Maten and Derek Ogbeide continue to grow in the low post, plus have the backcourt trio of J.J. Frazier, Kenny Gaines, and Charles Mann play better than they did during last year’s NCAA Tournament run.
Essentially the Dawgs need to find a way to make up for the losses of Nemanja Djurisic and Marcus Thornton in the aggregate in their remaining 14+ games (13 regular season plus SEC and other potential tournament games).
This 2015-16 Georgia Bulldogs team has both talent and frustrating parts on its roster. Georgia should have no issue getting at least a win total in the high teens, but they will have to play a more consistent brand of basketball to achieve 20 wins again this season.
Next: Georgia Bulldogs get first road win over Mizzou, 60-57
Getting to 20 wins for a third year in a row would mean that Coach Mark Fox’s program is well on its way to becoming a perennial contender in the SEC. With the conference becoming more relevant on the hardwood due to great coaches and national television exposure on the SEC Network, it’s more important than ever in the SEC to field an annually competitive basketball team. The more 20 win seasons for Mark Fox, the better it is for Georgia.