Every Game Must-Win for Georgia Basketball

Georgia kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive Tuesday with a win over Missouri, but the Bulldogs can't afford another loss.

Don't count Georgia basketball out just yet. The Bulldogs upset No. 20 Missouri Tuesday night for their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

Georgia improved to 13-8 overall and 6-8 in SEC play with the victory. While Georgia doesn't have any ranked opponents left on its schedule, it still has quality opponents in Florida and LSU. The Bulldogs end the regular season with a rematch against a South Carolina squad ranked No. 12 in the SEC standings.

However, to have any shot at sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, Georgia has to win out. Its tournament resume cannot afford another loss, especially a bad loss to South Carolina. 

At the moment, Georgia isn't in the tournament discussion. In fact, Ole Miss, a team Georgia has defeated twice, is in Joe Lunardi's "Next Four Out" list. 

That's because, despite having one less win than Georgia, Ole Miss has more good wins. The Rebels beat Tennessee, swept Auburn and defeated Missouri by 21 in their first encounter. With two wins over the Rebels, Georgia can leap-frog Ole Miss if it can defeat Florida on Saturday and LSU next Tuesday. 

However, Georgia needs to do more than just win out. The Bulldogs need to carry that momentum into the SEC Tournament. Georgia can pick up another quality win in the second round of the tournament and will have a chance to upset one of the SEC's four best teams in the third round. 

It's a long shot, but if Georgia can somehow win five straight games between now and March 12, it will have a great case to make the NCAA Tournament. 

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