ATHENS - Mike White doesn’t sound like a coach treating an NCAA tournament berth as a dream. At Georgia, he’s framing it as the baseline.
“Absolutely, we expect to be there, and I think everyone team in the league expects to,” White said Tuesday as he enters his fifth season after a school-record 22 regular-season wins a year ago.
That expectation comes with a schedule built to test it. Georgia’s non-conference slate includes seven major opponents, starting with a Nov. 13 trip to North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
The Bulldogs will also face Georgia Tech on Nov. 20 at McCamish Pavilion, then head to Orlando for games against Cincinnati and UCF on Nov. 26-27.
Boston College comes to Stegeman Coliseum for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 1, and Duke awaits at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 8.
The last time Georgia lined up seven major non-conference opponents was 2000-01, when Jim Harrick coached the team to a 16-13 record and an NCAA tournament bid.
For senior Marcus “Smurf” Millender, one of Georgia’s four returning starters, the tournament is more than a goal. It’s the standard.
“It’s the standard,” Millender said. “It’s the standard, but not only to get to the tournament, but it’s (also) to advance and go far in the tournament.
“We’ll try to use what happened last year for motivation.”
Georgia’s recent NCAA tournament history comes with a wrinkle: the Bulldogs’ most recent appearance included an 85-68 win in 2002 that was later vacated because of violations. Their last official NCAA tournament win came in 1996, when they beat No. 1 seed Purdue 76-69 in the second round to reach the Sweet 16.
White, who is 49 and had his right arm in a sling after rotator cuff surgery, said he believes this group is headed in the right direction. He also pointed to the transfer portal era as one more reason the team has to stay locked in.
“We have to maintain that focus to the finish line; in today’s age with all the distractions, they’ll all have decisions to make next spring,” White said.
He also acknowledged that Georgia’s latest NCAA tournament run did not match the way the team played during the season.
“Can we finish stronger? Because the way we played in the NCAA tournament wasn’t indicative of the way we played all season,” White said of UGA’s 102-77 loss to St. Louis in the first round of the most recent tournament.
Still, he said the program’s culture has grown.
“We had a good culture, and (now) we have a great culture where it’s important to these guys to give back to the fans.”
White’s roster got a boost from several additions, including 6-foot-10 center Andrew Osasuyi from St. Bonaventure, 6-11 forward James Scott from Ole Miss and 6-5 guard Freddie Dilione V from Penn State.
Georgia also brought in four freshmen: Donovan Williams Jr., a 6-2 guard from Oak Ridge H.S. in Orlando; Hakeem Weems, a 6-9 forward from IMG Academy; Mading Kuany, a 6-8 forward from Iowa United Prep; and David Ugonna Ike, a 6-11 forward from NBA Academy Africa in Saly Senegal.
The returning core includes Millender, 6-5 senior guard Blue Cain, 6-9 junior forward Kanon Catchings and 6-8 sophomore forward Kareem Stagg.
White thinks this team may look different in a few key areas.
“I think this team will be better defensively than last year’s group, I don’t know that we’ll score quite as easily, but we’ll play just as fast,” said White, whose team finished fifth in the nation last season with 89.4 points per game.
“.We’ll compliment that with what I think will be a better defensive team, and definitely and better rebounding team.”
Georgia was 185th nationally in rebounding margin last season and 156th in field goal defense.
The departures were notable, too. Center Somto Cyril transferred to Miami, Fla., and shooting guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who led the Bulldogs with 17.4 points per game last season, transferred to Arkansas.
Wilkinson scored 30 points in the loss to St. Louis, while Cyril missed his only shot and finished with one rebound in 12 minutes.
Cain said the newcomers have already bought into what Georgia wants to be.
“I think we’ll continue to build on the culture we’ve built here, and the new guys are extremely bought in and hungry and ready to learn,” Cain said. “I just think we’ll take pride in (defense) more … this team has a lot more pride in that.”
Like Millender, Cain said another NCAA tournament trip is the expectation.
“It means a lot, it’s the expectation, obviously it hasn’t the way we hoped to,” Cain said, “so we’ll continue to build, but that’s the expectation now.”
Georgia’s preseason schedule starts with a three-game exhibition run at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 against Georgia State, followed by Charlotte on Friday, Oct. 16 and a trip to Clemson on Friday, Oct. 23.
The regular season opens Monday, Nov. 2 against N.C. Central, and SEC play begins Jan. 2 at Ole Miss.
In Other News...
Georgia Gets An O-Line Boost Just In Time For Oklahoma
Georgias offensive line is getting a welcome bit of good news at just the right time, with Drew Bobo expected to be back on the field without the protective club on his left hand for the first time since the injury he sustained in fall camp. Kirby Smart has already pointed to Bobos toughness and stamina, and the update matters for a front that has needed bodies and reliability as the Bulldogs prepare for Oklahoma.
Bobo has talked about his own growth as a player and the standard he tries to bring every week, even while dealing with injuries. For Georgia, his return to something closer to full strength adds another layer of stability up front, and it comes at a moment when the Bulldogs can use every available piece as the schedule tightens and the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
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Kirby Smart Just Lost A Georgia Series Fans Really Wanted
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Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney both sounded resigned to the decision, pointing to the way scheduling demands and playoff changes have altered the math for programs at the top of the sport. The matchup had carried obvious appeal because of the recent history between the schools, and Georgias future non-conference slate now looks different without it, even if the Bulldogs still have plenty of big-game opportunities ahead. [Read more 🡒]