As I had hoped, the selection committee saw a very strong season from Georgia with no bad blemishes and rewarded them with a #3 seed.

Much will be made of the location disadvantages – Marist, Temple, and UConn won’t have to travel far at all – but to be honest, I’m very happy with the seeding. If you had asked me before the selection which four teams in the field I’d like to avoid, they would have been UNC, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. The bracket sees to it that Georgia wouldn’t face any of them until the Final Four.

I’ll go deeper into the bracket after a night’s sleep, but Georgia is in a pretty favorable position as I see it now.

The NIT bids are out, and Georgia was shut out as expected. The 1-7 end to the season after starting 14-8 was just too poor to merit postseason consideration.

As you might guess, the record against NCAA-bound teams isn’t good. The Dawgs played six NCAA Tournament teams and posted a 1-10 record against them:

• Kentucky: 0-2
• Tennessee: 0-2
• Florida: 0-2
• Arkansas: 0-2
• Alabama: 1-0
• LSU: 0-1
• Nevada: 0-1

Georgia played five NIT-bound teams and posted a much better 5-2 mark against them:

• Old Dominion: 0-1
• Vanderbilt: 1-1
• South Carolina: 2-0
• Clemson: 1-0
• Western Kentucky: 1-0

All of those NIT teams, except Western Kentucky, are seeded in the upper half of the NIT bracket. So while Georgia didn’t earn an NIT bid this year, they certainly showed they could play with the better teams in that tournament. I think that would have not been the case a season earlier. Another win – just one more – probably would have put Georgia over the top and earned them an NIT bid. The return to .500 is a nice first step, but a postseason berth – even in the NIT – would have been a really nice achievement to take from this season and build on next year.

OK, enough of the basketball navel-gazing for a second. UGASports.com reports that South Carolina lineman Clifton Geathers signed a (late) letter of intent with Georgia. Clifton is of course the brother of Bulldog alum Robert. We’ll see on which side of the ball and at which position he ends up, but regardless this is a big cherry on top of the recruiting class.

The State Farm Wade Trophy is the player of the year award in women’s college basketball, and only Georgia and LSU have two players among the 12 finalists. Senior Sherill Baker and sophomore Tasha Humphrey have been named finalists. Humphrey has been an All-American since she stepped on campus, and so her selection isn’t much of a surprise (though still a huge honor that shouldn’t be taken for granted). But Baker’s selection is a great personal triumph for her and recognition of the growth of her game during her four seasons at Georgia.

The Wade Trophy winner will be announced along with the Kodak/WBCA All-America Team on April 1 during the Final Four in Boston.

Also, Baker and Alexis Kendrick have been selected to participate in the WBCA All-Star Challenge. This is the sport’s equivalent of the Senior Bowl – a chance for the best seniors to show their stuff for the upcoming draft. Baker is already expected to be a first-round pick, but this is a big opportunity for Kendrick. She has been a rock-steady point guard and invaluable leader, but she has been kept out of the spotlight this season while her teammates put up the points.

Hopefully both will be unable to participate – the event is also held during the Final Four weekend in Boston (because the WNBA draft is held the next week).

The SEC has had a freshman all-conference team for 19 years, and Mike Mercer is now the 7th Bulldog to receive that honor. Mercer’s teammate Levi Stukes in 2004 was the last Georgia player to be named to the freshman all-SEC team.

It’s a shame the creativity of most SEC students stops around the “You suck!” plateau of taunting. Even the Cameron Crazies are a good bit less creative now and act more as if they are going to see Rocky Horror than a basketball game.

For the really good pranks in sports you usually have to leave it to the eggheads. MIT and CalTech have set the standard. Cal-Berkeley and Stanford figure in the strangest (and some would say greatest) finish to a college football game.

This time, it’s Cal’s turn again. They hosted Southern Cal in basketball recently, and both teams are competing for the Pac 10 title – it was a big game. Some Cal students created an online persona – a UCLA student named “Victoria” – and began instant messaging Southern Cal player Gabe Pruitt. By gametime, Pruitt had given “Victoria” his phone number and arranged a date.

As for what happened next…

When USC guard Gabe Pruitt took his first trip to the free throw line early in the game, the Cal student section hollered in unison: “VIC-TOR-IA, VIC-TOR-IA,” and then yelled out a telephone number. Pruitt glanced back at the crowd in horror and bewilderment before clanking his free throws.

It turns out that a couple of mischeivous little bastards from the Cal student section had been IM’ing with Pruitt all week under the identity of “Victoria,” a fictional UCLA hottie, and Pruitt was eagerly anticipating a date with this nubile co-ed back in Westwood after the game. In preparation for the date, Pruitt had handed over his digits, which the Cal student section recited back to him in unison.

Pruitt, a 79% free throw shooter this season, missed both shots after the “VIC-TOR-IA” chants began, and hit only three out of 13 shots the whole game. Cal beat USC by 11 for the season sweep, in part due to the Cal fans’ devious psy-ops.

Brilliant. Meanwhile students everywhere else are impressed with themselves for yelling “SIT DOWN” whenever someone fouls out.

To emphasize my point about the Lady Dogs having zero bad losses, each team that beat them either won their conference tournament or is ranked in the top 10 right now.

• Baylor: Top 10 team, still alive in the Big 12 tournament.
• UCLA: Won the PAC 10 tournament.
• Temple: Won the Atlantic 10 tournament.
• LSU: Top 5 team
• Tennessee: Top 5 team, won the SEC Tournament.

The only problem is that these are still losses. It would be a lot more impressive if they could count a win among that group.

Every so often a Georgia player will earn permanent and eternal untouchable status from me with one play or one game. Short of showing up in the next bin Laden home video, these guys could do nothing else their entire careers or lives that would remove them from my pantheon of Sacred Bulldogs.

Usually this status comes with a big play against Georgia Tech, but other events have also triggered it. Michael Johnson’s ownership of Auburn put him right up there.

I bring this up because UGASports.com has an interview today with Mario Raley discussing his expectations for his senior season. “As a leader and a senior in my fifth year, I feel like my role is to step up and lead the guys and show them the ins and outs and dos and don’ts,” Raley said.

It’s great that Raley has that outlook, but he has already stepped up in my eyes. As UGASports.com’s Brad Harrison wisely notes, “(Raley’s) biggest catch (of 2005) came against Georgia Tech, an eight-yarder that kept a Georgia drive going late in the game.” Exactly right, Brad. In a tie game late in the 4th quarter, facing third down just on the outside of field goal range, Raley caught a pass heading towards the sideline and turned it upfield for the first down. It was his only catch of the game, and it was only for eight yards, but it was the first in a trio – or dare I say trinity – of events that led to another win over Georgia Tech. Soon after Raley’s catch left the Bulldogs comfortably in field goal range, DJ Shockley found Bryan McClendon for the go-ahead score. A few minutes later, Tim Jennings stepped in front of a Reggie Ball Western Union Special to seal the win. Thomas Flowers set up the final drive with another big return, but it was Raley’s catch that kept it alive.

I hope Mario Raley does continue to improve and find an increased role as a senior. He’s not going to transform into Hines Ward, but hopefully his catch at Tech will give him the taste for making the key catch when Georgia needs a reception. If any catch this season even approaches what his reception at Tech meant to me, he’ll be an instant hero. You can do much worse as a Bulldog than to be remembered for your contribution, no matter how small, in a win over Tech.

The SEC Tournament went about as expected for Georgia. Though they fought back from a poor start and held the lead in the second half, they just couldn’t stop Tennessee’s inside game. Parker and Fluker scored at will, and Georgia was outrebounded 40-22.

I guess if there was a disappointing part of the game, it was Tennessee’s (specifically Zolman’s) success from outside. Tennessee’s dominance inside was to be expected, but Georgia did match up along the perimeter. One sequence in particular put it all together – Tennessee had a slim 3-point lead late in the second half. They hit a basket and were fouled to set up a possible three-point play. They missed the foul shot, got the rebound, kicked it outside for a three-pointer, and a three-point lead was suddenly eight. Dagger. Nail in coffin. Game over.

Now at 21-8, the Lady Dogs await their NCAA Tournament fate. The seedings won’t be announced until a week from today (Monday the 13th).

Georgia’s current RPI is 16. If that were the only consideration, Georgia would be a 4 seed, probably in North Carolina’s region. Let’s look at some other factors:

• Strength of schedule. According to the RPI figures, Georgia had the 11th toughest schedule. That’s a nice plus. Strength of schedule can help a team, but it can go overboard. For instance, NC State currently sits ahead of Georgia in the RPI because of their schedule rating of 2 despite three more losses and a .500 conference record.
• Wins and losses. 21 wins, particularly with an SEC schedule, is what you’d expect from a team making its case for a higher seed. Eight losses seems like a bit much, but five of those losses came to teams in the RPI’s top 4.
• Bad losses. Georgia simply has none. The “worst” loss is Temple – a team with an RPI of 39 who is ranked in the Top 25 and on the verge of winning its conference tournament. All other Georgia losses have an RPI better than 20. No shame there.
• Big wins. This is a negative for Georgia. The Lady Dogs have played seven games against teams in the RPI Top 20 and lost them all. The best win RPI-wise might be Kentucky, and there are several decent wins against teams like Florida and Vanderbilt who are just on the periphery of being ranked and have an RPI from 30-40. The bottom line is that they pretty much beat everyone they should have (especially in conference) and did it in impressive fashion but lack any really landmark wins that stand out.
• Finish to the season. Georgia is 7-3 over their last ten games, and those three losses were to LSU and Tennessee. The seven wins feature three wins by 20+ points over ranked teams (Florida and Vanderbilt) and a devastation of Kentucky, the SEC’s #4 team. Forget the last ten games – if the jersey hasn’t read LSU or Tennessee, Georgia has been playing at a very high level with great consistency since Christmas.

There aren’t many negatives that should drop Georgia much below a 4 seed. They might even move up. They present as good of a case as teams with slightly higher RPIs such as Western Kentucky, DePaul, and NC State. Let’s be honest -the Georgia name carries some weight, and at the end of the season they could play with all but about the top 5 teams. Could the Lady Dogs slide up into a 3 seed? It’s possible. Georgia would present a big concern for any 2 seed in a potential Sweet 16 matchup.

The NCAA selection committee, especially on the men’s side, always likes to add little twists to create matchups along the way. How would you like to see Oklahoma and their freshman phenom Courtney Paris as a 2 seed going up against Georgia and sophomore all-American Tasha Humphrey as a 3 seed?

Georgia will be extremely sensitive to matchups in this tournament. As we’ve known all season, they are thin (and short) in the frontcourt and have had problems against quality teams with strong frontcourts. A lower seed with those strengths might mean that Georgia faces a tough game in an early round. On the other hand, Georgia might get a draw where they can hold their own among the frontcourt and can get the upper hand with favorable guard matchups.

Tasha Humphrey and Sherill Baker were named first team All-SEC, and Cori Chambers was named to the second team. Baker was also named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year. All three are very deserving of the recognition.

I hope it never becomes old to point out how good Tasha Humphrey is. She WAS the Georgia frontcourt this season. She faced double-teams all year, and she also usually played against taller girls. Importantly, she had to learn how to play smart ball and avoid fouls to remain in the game. Her conditioning after off-season foot surgery got a serious test this season, and she has passed.

Baker has shed the “defensive specialist” label to become much more of a complete player. Though she has stepped up the defense, she is now much more assertive and effective on the offensive end than ever. Though her outside shot is still spotty and the only real weakness of her game, she is devastating inside of 17 feet. Baker has likely earned a first-round WNBA selection with her all-around improvement.

I might be most pleased with the recognition for Chambers. Baker got press for her steals record, and Humphrey is a superstar. But Chambers was the critical piece of this year’s team. Inconsistent outside shooting hurt the Lady Dogs several times in the 2005 season, and they didn’t have the frontcourt to compensate. Chambers hasn’t only been consistent from outside this year – she’s been outstanding. During a three-game stretch in the heart of the SEC schedule, Chambers was hitting nearly 60% from outside. When she is on, and she usually is, defenses must extend, and lots of things open up around the basket for other players.

Only six players on this team generally get more than five minutes a game. Half of them are all-SEC honorees. That’s how a team with such serious depth issues can continue to operate at a very high level.

Though they didn’t make All-SEC, Darrah, Kendrick, and Hardrick all had huge roles during this season. Case in point – Alexis Kendrick was injured during the Arkansas game. Janese Hardrick has come off the bench to score around 20 points per game in the final two games of the regular season right when the team needed an offensive shot in the arm.

PS…I really disagree with the selection of Mickie DeMoss as Coach of the Year. That’s basically an award for beating Tennessee. Landers’ job with the personnel he had was far more impressive.

The NCAA released the first round of Academic Progress Reports today. The reports measure the academic progress of student-athletes within each team and through formulas derived from Max Planck’s recently-discovered diaries arrive at an index. If a program’s index number is below 925, problems start.

Georgia came out fairly well, and no UGA sport will incur penalties. The flagship football program is in very good shape, and both basketball teams did well. Only baseball and men’s track seem to have work to do, and I’m not going to look into why they are below the 925 mark and what they have to do. You can see any school’s report by clicking here. (PS…”University of Georgia” is under “U”.)

It’s not surprising that the penalties announced today impact smaller public schools and especially historically black schools. In the case of a school like Middle Tenn. State, they built a program by finding the marginal qualifiers who fell through the cracks of larger Division 1 programs who didn’t want to take the risks. The pressures of winning are still there without the resources of the big programs, and one or two difference-makers can build a smaller program and enhance a coach’s career. I noted this earlier when it was found that women’s basketball graduation rates are dropping – more programs are willing to take more academic risks because the pressure to win has increased.

Much of the postgame analysis of Georgia’s 74-61 win over Auburn yesterday focuses in on the fact that Georgia saw another first half lead disappear but withstood the opponent’s run this time and kept control of the game. It’s true – just as in the Baylor and Tennessee games, hot first-half jumpshots built a nice lead, but the lack of an inside game put the brakes on the scoring as the jumpshooting went cold in the second half.

I think a key fact getting overlooked is that Georgia retained control of the game by going to the basket. Now as Coach Landers admitted afterwards, Georgia didn’t mimic the entry passes and straight post-up offense Auburn had used to claw back into the game. Instead, they used penetration to get to the basket. Tasha Humphrey stopped the Auburn comeback with a drive from the elbow on which she scored and drew a foul. Janese Hardrick cut inside the Auburn defense on several occasions and found herself at the front of the rim.

The penetration was made possible because Humphrey and Megan Darrah, playing at the 4 and 5 spots, were effective enough from outside to draw Auburn’s sizeable post defenders away from the basket. Though Humphrey lacked the size to compete inside with KeKe “Aircraft” Carrier, Carrier was no match for Humphrey 15 feet from the basket. Humphrey was able to shoot over her or drive around her, and the result was a team-high 22 points despite a serious height disadvantage. Same thing with Hardrick. Since Humphrey and Darrah were able to draw the Auburn posts towards the perimeter, there was an opening for guard penetration, and Janese used some nice moves to weave through the forest and get to the basket.

I do wonder why Auburn stuck with a man defense. Auburn’s posts were of no use once they were drawn away from the basket, and that allowed Georgia to rely less on jumpshots and even get to the foul line to put the game away. Tennessee used a 3-2 zone to great effect against Georgia, and I think Auburn had the personnel to try the same. Auburn’s two posts could have controlled the lane, and they had enough size on the perimeter to pressure the outside shots.

In the end, possessions won the game for Georgia. They attempted 13 more field goals than Auburn (64-51). So even though Auburn was able to work the ball inside for higher-percentage shots, Georgia was able to overwhelm them by attempting more shots, even if they were lower-percentage jumpshots. How did Georgia get more possessions? The obvious answer is turnovers. Georgia forced 19 Auburn turnovers and committed a thrifty six of their own.

Another more hidden answer is rebounding. Although Auburn had a huge size advantage, they only outrebounded Georgia 36-30. Georgia was able to work for 11 offensive rebounds – two more than Auburn – and offensive rebounds mean additional possessions and field goal attempts. The kicker is that at least half of those offensive rebounds came from Georgia’s tiny guards. Again – where were Auburn’s posts to clean up on the glass? Auburn coach Nell Fortner seems to have made a strategic mistake with her tremendous size advantage.

Getting excited about a college baseball series in February is like talking about the basketball NCAA Tournament during the first week in November. We’re talking about six games into a season that might go 50 or 60 games.

But when you start the season 6-0 and in the process sweep a Top 10 team that had already swept mighty Texas, it’s worth some attention and congratulations. Georgia lost plenty of close games in a 2005 season that came up just short of the postseason, and it’s not too early to think that this sweep of San Diego will impress any selection committee down the road. Friday’s 1-0 win is already a classic moment for the season.

The Diamond Dawgs will likely be ranked after this sweep, and it’s up to them how this return to the polls will end up. The remaining nonconference schedule is still extremely difficult (including a trip out to the west coast and Southern Cal), and the SEC circuit will be brutal as always. For those of us who suffered through the agonizing close losses last season, this early turn of events in 2006 is very welcome. We hope it keeps up – the SEC standings and Georgia’s postseason fate will likely depend on their ability to flip a few more of those one-run games in their favor.

OK – I know Mississippi State had a nice frontcourt advantage on Georgia. They drew fouls at a staggering rate and dunked like they were playing on an 8-foot goal.

I am still pretty – no…VERY – disappointed in Georgia’s defensive response. The strategy seemed to be to rely on turnovers to stop Mississippi State’s offense. That worked more or less during the first half, and the “other” Bulldogs helped out by shooting from outside and staying away from their advantage. Georgia was also lighting it up from outside.

But as the strategy broke down and Mississippi State got dunk after layup inside, there was no Georgia adjustment. They didn’t pack a zone into the box and surround the entry pass with four players. They didn’t force the midrange jumpshot. I can’t really identify what, if anything, they did to make some other player beat them. This wasn’t a team like Florida that would bury you from outside if you played a sagging zone. This was Mississippi State – a team at the bottom of the SEC West with a good post player or two and nothing special at guard.

I contrast that with the Lady Dog strategy I saw yesterday that matched a lineup of 6-7, 6-5, and 6-4 with 6-2, 6-1, 5-11 and no depth behind that. I saw double-teams and fundamental positioning that made entry passes and rebounds more difficult for the taller player. In short, I saw them try something despite a serious size disadvantage. It doesn’t matter that the bigger player scored anyway – the disruptions were effective enough times to prevent complete domination and create turnovers, and the rebounding margin was close enough not to be a deciding factor.

I’m not disappointed nor surprised that Georgia’s men lost to a better frontcourt. I am disappointed that we think it’s a foregone conclusion that Georgia should just shrug its shoulders and accept another career-high when facing a good frontcourt. Even with lesser talent, there are strategic ways to frustrate and deny an inside game. They might require you getting out of man-to-man or some other comfort zone, but they are there. At the very least, let’s see some urgency and desperation and strategy.

In the ugliest of games, rivaling only the 45-42 loss to Alabama in 2004, Georgia completed a season sweep of the defending NIT champs last night. With the win, a berth in this year’s NIT seems much more likely. Another win at Mississippi State next week should lock it up.

Why is the freaking NIT such a big deal? It is the postseason. It is a recognizable sign of progress from last season. It is the chance to keep playing and practicing for another week. It is a reward, though small, for the players who were asked to play above their ability and experience for the past two seasons.

It is also a baseline. As a baby step of progress for this program, it should be the last time for a while that the NIT is a goal or an acceptable outcome. Almost all of the current team will return next year. Recruiting will continue to add more pieces. The unholy trinity of little depth, little experience, and little talent hasn’t been completely exorcised but is fading away.

A berth in the NIT this year would be a good achievement for the team and a nice sign of progress – so long as that’s what it is. A step along the path of progress and not a stopping point or plateau. The fan base is hungry for more, and the coach and players surely are.

Let’s finish this season strong, recognize the improvement, and get ready for a real move forward next year.