Latest on Georgia's tourney hopes: After strong start, Bulldogs take step back with two losses
Georgia jumped out to a solid start with 11 wins in 14 games, with three of those coming against top-50 opponents.
The Bulldogs even jumped into the top 40 of the RPI, which probably had head coach Mark Fox and the players feeling pretty good about where things stood.
Then last week happened.
Georgia dropped a 12-point decision on the road at Missouri and lost at home by seven to South Carolina. The Bulldogs saw their ranking slip, even though the two losses aren't too bad in the grand scheme of things. Missouri is No. 35 in the RPI and South Carolina, a Final Four team a year ago, has recently been a steady riser at No. 55.
Even so, the Bulldogs are now 2-3 in conference play and will need to string together some wins to improve the resume.
Key rankings
RPI: 56
ESPN BPI: 79
KenPom: 62
Sagarin: 62
Key numbers
Team record: 11-5 overall, 2-3 SEC
Non-conference strength of schedule: 180
Overall strength of schedule: 74
Record vs. RPI 1-50: 3-2
Record vs. RPI 51-100: 2-2
Record vs. RPI 101-351: 6-1
CBSSports.com conference RPI rankings: 1. Big 12, 2. ACC, 3. SEC, 4. Big East, 5. Pac-12, 6. Big Ten, 7. American Athletic, 8. Missouri Valley, 9. Mountain West, 10. Atlantic 10
Bracketology
ESPN's Joe Lunardi: Georgia was in Lunardi's field of 68 last week. After dropping two games, the Bulldogs moved down to the "First Four Out" category, where they appear to be the second team on the outside looking in. As for the rest of the SEC, Lunardi is a big believer in the SEC with eight teams in at the moment — Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm: Even with the two losses last week, Palm has Georgia in the tournament as a play-in No. 11 seed. Palm has seven SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament at the moment, with Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Missouri also getting in for the time being.
USA Today/BracketWAG.com's Shelby Mast: Mast has Georgia on the outside looking in as the fourth team of his "First Four Out." Mast has eight SEC teams in the tournament at the moment, with a slight surprise. In addition to Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama and Missouri, Mast is including LSU in his field.
Current state of affairs
Last 10 games: 6-4
Wins that help: Unlike previous seasons, Georgia actually has a few top-50 wins it can boast. The Bulldogs have defeated Saint Mary's, Marquette and Alabama, which are great for the resume. They also have a win over Temple, which is just outside the top-50 at No. 52.
Losses that hurt: No defeat is worse than the one Georgia took against Massachusetts, a team that ranks No. 170 in the RPI. San Diego State has a win over Gonzaga but has slipped to No. 64 in the RPI. Georgia will need the Aztecs to start playing better basketball in conference play.
A look around the SEC: This is as deep the SEC has been in recent memory. While it may not be too top heavy, Auburn (No. 6), Kentucky (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 21), Texas A&M (No. 33), Missouri (No. 35), Alabama (No. 39) and Florida (No. 40) are all in the top-50. South Carolina (No. 55) and Georgia (No. 56) are the next best teams in the RPI.
Looking ahead
What Georgia needs to do this week: A sweep of LSU and Auburn on the road might be too much to ask Georgia to do this week. Therefore, splitting the games would be an ideal scenario. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs will be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a tough game against a Tigers team that has played better lately. And then Saturday, Georgia will be at Auburn facing a program that has caught a lot of folks off guard. Coming off of two losses, things won't be any easier for Georgia.
This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Latest on Georgia's tourney hopes: After strong start, Bulldogs take step back with two losses."