Bubble watch: Georgia

OK, new feature here on the blog: A semi-regular look at Georgia’s chances for the NCAA tournament. It will continue until such time that it no longer becomes necessary, or we run out of graphics.

The meter indicates that Mr. Blog Man, or Mr. Bracketology Geek for the next couple months, believes Georgia currently has a 60 percent chance of making the NCAA tournament. I arrived at that figure through a very detailed, scientific way that is referred to in the industry as a "guess."

For those of you who say it’s early … it’s never too early … Besides, Georgia is now halfway through its regular season. So here is where things stand at the moment:

GEORGIA'S KEY STATS
Record: 12-3 overall, 1-1 in the SEC
RPI: 48
SOS: 111
Record vs. top 50 in RPI: 2-3 (beat UAB, Kentucky; lost to Notre Dame, Temple, Vanderbilt).
Record vs. top 100: 3-3 (beat Colorado).

What happened Wednesday: Georgia lost at Vanderbilt, which isn’t a bad loss. The Bulldogs also got a minor bit of help from Colorado, which upset Kansas State, vaulting the Buffaloes from 112 in the RPI all the way up to 83. If Georgia can eventually count that as a quality win, that will be another important notch on its resume.

What to watch Thursday: Ole Miss hosts Mississippi State at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. Georgia will watch that game from the road, as it is going straight from Nashville to Oxford.

Several teams that Georgia beat earlier in the season are in action, including Arkansas State, Eastern Kentucky, High Point and Charleston Southern.

Eventually this space will also include teams competing for at-large spots, but it’s too early for that yet.

Next up for Georgia: On Saturday, the Bulldogs play at Mississippi, which right now is the best team in the West. That’s not saying much, but it will still be a tough matchup. Georgia has more to gain than lose in this game, but given how difficult the East is, especially on the road, the Bulldogs need to accumulate as many wins against the West as they can.