Mark Fox on the timeout, and where it leaves the NCAA hopes

Some quick quotes from the Georgia locker room and postgame press conference:

- Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox said he didn’t call the timeout after the Alabama basket because he didn’t want to go the length of the court after the defense had a chance to set.

“We didn’t want to have to go the length of the floor because of their pressure,” he said. “I thought we would have a little more time than 0.8. I thought we would get the timeout with a couple seconds.”

Fox said he thinks he hollered for the timeout with about two seconds left, but granted that the refs went to the monitor.

“The ball went in, so sure I wish I hadn’t called it,” Fox said. “That’s a tough, tough break.”

- As for the NCAA tournament hopes, Fox used the painful end of regulation as evidence that his team should still be in.

“If I don’t call that timeout, and the ball goes in, you don’t ask that question,” Fox said. “That’s how close it is. But this team, I think, has put itself in position to get serious consideration.”

- Some people think Alabama may have punched its ticket by beating Georgia a second time. Fox had a quick comeback when asked if the Tide’s two wins over the Bulldogs should be a factor between the two teams’ bids:

“If it does, then Georgia-Colorado will factor in. I think they look at the body of work really more than they do anything else,” Fox said.

- Dustin Ware on his reaction to his would-be game-winner not counting:

“I thought it was a clean shot. But then I kind of saw the referee waving it off, so I knew coach had called a timeout.”

I'll have more in my stories later.