22. Georgia (15-3)
The college basketball season is a roller coaster ride but Georgia is certainly glad that they’re at least part of these conversations. The Bulldogs didn’t play the strongest nonconference schedule in the world but started to show some of the cracks since SEC play begin. They survived Auburn and South Carolina but got worked by Florida last week and were hoping to make a big statement this week.
They didn’t quite achieve that, falling Wednesday night at home in a 97-95 overtime thriller to Ole Miss. Georgia picked the worst time for the team’s worst defensive showing of the season, though that 32-point effort from Jeremiah Wilkinson was outstanding. Fortunately, Georgia bounced back in a major way on Saturday with a 90-76 win against Arkansas, a fellow ranked team. Wilkinson led with 20 points while Blue Cain put up 18 points against those Razorbacks.
Life in the SEC is like pulling teeth and there won’t be any easy moments for Georgia or anyone else in this conference. They could certainly be better off than they are right now but 3-2 isn’t a bad result after 5 games, especially with how they’ve looked at times. The team that showed up against Arkansas can win significant ballgames and we’ll see if they can repeat that effort at Missouri or at Texas next week.