Latest on Georgia's tourney hopes: Bulldogs still seeking big boost to solid résumé
Georgia's game against Auburn was never considered one it must have for its NCAA Tournament résumé.
And it wasn't a game outsiders felt Georgia would win as oddsmakers in Las Vegas proclaimed Auburn to be an 8.5-point favorite. But the way Georgia lost seemed to be what irked fans -- judging by the reaction on Twitter -- more than the simple fact it lost. At halftime, the Bulldogs were up by 14 points and seemingly in control of the game. A win over Auburn on the road would have been a monumental lift.
Instead, the Tigers caught fire and outscored the Bulldogs by 28 in the second half en route to a 79-65 win.
Georgia had a chance to give its profile a great boost. It didn't happen when it was there for the taking. But the Bulldogs are still very much a bubble team and in a favorable spot compared to where it was at this time last season.
While the loss to Auburn doesn't hurt in the grand scheme of things, it does place a greater emphasis on a tough slate of upcoming games.
Key rankings
RPI: 51
KPI: 38
KenPom: 65
Sagarin: 62
Key numbers
Team record: 12-6, (3-4 SEC)
Non-conference strength of schedule: 208
Overall strength of schedule: 61
Record vs. RPI 1-50: 4-3
Record vs. RPI 51-100: 2-1
Record vs. RPI 101-351: 6-2
CBSSports.com conference RPI rankings: 1. Big 12, 2. ACC, 3. Big East, 4. SEC, 5. PAC-12, 6. Big Ten, 7. American Athletic, 8. Missouri Valley, 9. Mountain West, 10. Atlantic 10
Bracketology
ESPN's Joe Lunardi: While Lunardi believes Georgia did itself a big favor by beating LSU last week, Lunardi still has the Bulldogs as one of his first four teams out of the field of 68. Specifically, Georgia is his third team out. As for the rest of the SEC, Lunardi has eight teams in -- 4-seed Auburn, 5-seed Kentucky, 5-seed Florida, 5-seed Tennessee, 9-seed Arkansas, 9-seed Texas A&M, 10-seed Alabama and 10-seed Missouri.
CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm: Georgia is in Palm's field with a little wiggle room following last week's road split at LSU and Auburn. The Bulldogs are a No. 10 seed and moved forward past the First Four conversation. Palm's other SEC teams in his bracket are 3-seed Auburn, 3-seed Tennessee, 5-seed Florida, 6-seed Kentucky, 8-seed Texas A&M, 9-seed Alabama, 9-seed Arkansas and 10-seed Missouri.
USA Today/BracketWAG.com's Shelby Mast: Georgia is still in Mast's bracket after losing to Auburn. A win would have likely catapulted the Bulldogs into better standing. Nevertheless, Georgia is among Mast's last four teams in as a No. 11 seed. Only two teams are slotted behind Georgia on this line. Mast has nine SEC teams in the tournament at the moment, which is the most of any conference nationally. Joining Georgia are 3-seed Auburn, 4-seed Florida, 4-seed Tennessee, 5-seed Kentucky, 8-seed Alabama, 8-seed Arkansas, 9-seed Texas A&M and 10-seed Missouri.
Current state of affairs
Last 10 games: 5-5
Wins that help: Georgia holds four wins against top-50 teams -- Alabama, Saint Mary's, Marquette and Temple. The Bulldogs would love nothing more than for Saint Mary's and Marquette to continue winning. Those two teams could go a long way in helping firm up Georgia's tournament résumé. Temple, on the other hand, is 10-9 but with a favorable RPI thanks to strong non-conference scheduling and early wins over Auburn and Clemson. After losing five games in a row, Temple has won three of its last four. Georgia will hope Temple can continue winning, beginning Wednesday against Cincinnati.
Losses that hurt: It would have been tough to predict that Georgia's loss to San Diego State would become a bad one. Yet all of a sudden, the Aztecs are the nation's No. 121 team in the RPI. That combined with the inexcusable defeat at Massachusetts are games that stand out in a bad way for Georgia.
A look around the SEC: Who saw Auburn becoming one of the top teams in the SEC this season? Not this reporter, at least. The Tigers, however, only have one conference loss and two total defeats for the entire season. Kentucky, the perennial conference favorite and powerhouse, is a team sliding in the wrong direction. The Wildcats fell out of the AP top 25 and have lost three of their last five games.
Looking ahead
What Georgia needs to do this week: There aren't any easy weeks remaining. And this week will provide yet another challenge. The Bulldogs are set to face the RPI No. 32 team in Arkansas on Tuesday and the RPI No. 57 team in Kansas State on Saturday. Arkansas is considered an NCAA Tournament lock at the moment and Kansas State has positioned itself on the bubble. Given the strength of its remaining schedule, Georgia can probably get away with a split this week. A sweep would be tremendous for its tournament hopes. Two losses, however, would likely move the Bulldogs outside of the field of 68 in every projection.
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Latest on Georgia's tourney hopes: Bulldogs still seeking big boost to solid résumé."