Analysis: Following Mississippi loss, Georgia still lacking a resume-boosting win

ATHENS -- None of Georgia's five losses this season cane be considered of the bad variety.

Chattanooga, Seton Hall, Florida and Mississippi all will make cases for the NCAA tournament by the time the middle of March comes around. The Mocs very well could win the Southern Conference tournament and an earn automatic entry.

Kansas State has enough talent to make a run, despite a three-game skid it has endured -- albeit to West Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma -- with the Wildcats losing each game by only 10 points or less.

But what Georgia doesn't have is a signature win. The Bulldogs (8-5, 1-2 SEC) are approaching the middle of January without a key victory they can brag about. Georgia's best victory is either over Georgia Tech (which upset No. 4 Virginia on Saturday) or Oakland (which took then-No. 1 Michigan State to overtime in a loss on Dec. 22, 2015).

Neither of those wins, at least at this stage, are the kind the NCAA tournament committee will be wowed with come March, which is something Georgia must focus on when it comes to putting together its resume.

The Bulldogs blew a chance to get a win over an Ole Miss team that has only lost three games. It would have also marked the first road win for Georgia, which is now 0-3 away from Stegeman Coliseum.

Road losses are one thing, as that's a tough task in of itself. Losing road games when every opportunity to win exists is something that could haunt Georgia down the stretch. In losses to Seton Hall and Ole Miss, the Bulldogs let great chances to win slip away little by little.

Against the Rebels on Saturday, Georgia held a 15-point lead late in the first half and still led by nine at the break. The Bulldogs jumped back ahead by 13 with fewer than 18 minutes to play, with it looking like the Bulldogs were ready to put away their second consecutive conference foe.

Then, reminiscent of Georgia's 49-46 win over High Point, Georgia hit an ice-cold stretch from the field. The Bulldogs suddenly were unable to get into any kind of offensive flow and allowed the Rebels to climb back into the game.

NCAA tournament caliber teams don't go 10-minute stretches without scoring from the field -- at least those that are competitive to make a run in the big dance. Georgia, which hasn't been a bad offensive team this year outside of the aforementioned High Point game, found its chances of hitting a bucket harder than nailing the Powerball jackpot. In an ever-important conference game, those stretches can't happen.

A win over Mississippi wouldn't have immediately bolstered the resume. The loss prevents the chance of it occurring -- considering the Rebels will be in most games they play due to how exceptional Stefan Moody is with the basketball. Moody scored 29 points against a Georgia team that actually defended him well in stretches.

Georgia has two home games this week against Tennessee and Texas A&M to rectify the early conference losses to Florida and Ole Miss. Obviously, Georgia can't afford to overlook the Volunteers on Wednesday. But the game against the Aggies on Saturday will be the most important game to date for this team.

With five losses, Georgia needs a big win to boast about. Another loss and Georgia's path to the field of 68 will become increasingly more difficult.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Analysis: Following Mississippi loss, Georgia still lacking a resume-boosting win ."