Georgia vs. The Field

Unless you were under a rock yesterday, you're well aware that the tournament brackets for the NCAA tournament and the NIT were both announced. Not at all surprisingly, Georgia didn't make either field -- but that doesn't mean the announcements were without impact in Athens.

As it turns out, Georgia's schedule was no simple task this season. The Dawgs made strides this season on the court despite playing 12 games against NCAA tourney foes and six more against teams invited to the NIT. (That's up three from last year overall, for what it's worth, but nearly double the total against NCAA teams.)

Seven of Georgia's non-conference foes made either the NIT or NCAA this year, too -- so it wasn't just a boost in competition within the SEC. Georgia challenged itself early and often, and that was probably a good thing -- even if the results weren't fully realized in their 14-17 overall record.

But speaking of records, the Dawgs' improvements certainly weren't just about beating the weakest of their opponents.

Last season, Georgia faced seven NCAA tourney teams and lost all seven of those games.

This season, Georgia played 12 games against NCAA tourney teams and finished with a respectable 4-8 record.

Of course, you might say, "Come on, Hale, 4-8 isn't exactly respectable." And that'd be true if we were talking about Duke or North Carolina or Kansas. But for Georgia, it's real progress. (And in truth, I saw plenty of arguments for teams to be included in the tourney when they boasted records worse than 4-8 against RPI Top 100 teams.)

But let's look beyond the records, too. For Georgia, step 1 wasn't winning games. Step 1 was simply being competitive -- and that's where the Dawgs really progressed this year.

In the 2008-09 season, not only did Georgia finish winless against tourney teams, it wasn't even close. The average score of the Dawgs' games against NCAA tourney foes last season was 79-61 -- i.e. the Dawgs didn't just lose those games, but instead were blown out by an average of 18 points.

This season, they won four more games against tourney teams, but that, too, doesn't tell the whole story. The average score against NCAA tourney foes this season was 74-71 -- turning those blowout losses into close calls.

(Note: Even if we look at games vs. NIT opponents, where the Dawgs were 3-5 last season and 1-5 this year, the margins still improved. On average, Georgia was outscored by 10 points per game against NIT foes last year, and that number dropped to seven this season, despite winning two fewer games. It's also worth noting, the majority of the NIT opponents were non-conference games early in the season, before Fox's plan had much time to develop.)

Much as Mark Fox said all season, this wasn't just about how things shook out in the standings. It was about earning respect.

By that measure, it's hard to consider the 2009-10 season anything but a rousing success.

And in case you're curious, here's Georgia's record vs. tourney opponents this year and last...

2008-2009

NCAA
Miss St - 60-79
Tenn - 48-79
LSU - 62-80
Tenn - 77-86
WKU - 63-67
Missouri - 76-83
Illinois - 42-76

Record: 0-7
Score: 428-550

NIT
S Carolina - 68-79
S Carolina - 51-68
Kentucky - 45-68
Kentucky - 90-85
Virginia Tech - 67-66
Auburn - 59-71
Florida - 57-83
Florida - 88-86

Record: 3-5
Score: 525-606

2009-2010

NCAA
Wofford - 57-60
Missouri - 68-76
GT - 73-66
Kentucky - 68-76
Kentucky - 68-80
Vandy - 66-78
Vandy - 72-58
Tenn - 60-69
Vandy - 94-96
Tenn - 78-63
Florida - 71-87
Florida - 78-76

Record: 4-8
Score: 853-885

NIT
UAB - 56-72
Virginia Tech - 62-74
Miss State - 69-72
Illinois - 70-67
St Johns - 56-66
Ole Miss - 76-80

Record: 1-5
Score: 389-431

SIDE NOTE: My early look through my brackets keeps leading me to pick three Big East teams in the Final Four. That can't be right, but I just don't trust Kentucky.