From Worst to First in Four Days

By Trey Cosby

This is my favorite time of the entire year.  Spring time is upon us, it is time to get some sun, and look forward to daily outdoor activities.  There are some things that I enjoy doing during the month of March, and watching college basketball is one of them.  You cannot go wrong with the NCAA College Basketball Tournament if you like excitement.  Sure you have the NBA, NASCAR and college football.  For my money there is nothing more exciting than the NCAA tournament.

So many teams now have the chance to take home the trophy.  You have teams from small conferences such as St. Marys, Austin Peay or even Portland.  There are teams from the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac 10, the SEC and all the other major conferences.  The tournament is so unique and diverse.  That is why I like it so much.

By allowing so many conferences and teams to compete, the NCAA generates excitement that no other sports tournament or event can touch.  It is fun and uplifting for everyone, even if you don't particularly like basketball.  There are so many touching stories that go along with these teams even making the tournament.  If you read about them, then you can't help but watch.

Take the Georgia Bulldogs for example:  Georgia was a team that went 4-12 in their conference during the regular season.  When the SEC Conference Tournament began, they were last in the conference and had no chance of making the NCAA tournament.  Then a funny thing happened on the way to the tournament selection day.

You see, Georgia was supposed to play their first conference game on Friday.  Well it never happened.  A tornado swept through Atlanta during the time that their game was supposed to be played.  The tornado destroyed part of the Georgia Dome, so the Georgia vs. Kentucky game was postponed.

The SEC then decided that the game would have to be played the next day.  So here is the scenario:  Georgia and Kentucky play at 1:00 on Saturday, and the winner also PLAYS ON SATURDAY against Mississippi State at 8:30!  So you’ve got one team that is going to have to play TWO games of basketball in one day versus a team that only played once!  That is unheard of in the modern era of college basketball!

Georgia's coach Dennis Felton wasn’t happy to hear that his team had to play two games in one day.  He was very upset about it.  Although, as things worked out the SEC couldn't have done anything much different, however I can see why the coach was not pleased.

To make a long story short, Dennis Felton used the adversity to motivate his team, and the University of Georgia Bulldogs went on to win four games in three days and take the Conference Tournament Title!  AMAZING!  From worst to first in four days!  So by way of winning their conference tournament, the Dawgs got an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.  Now they are scheduled to play Xavier in the first round on Thursday, and Bulldog Fans from all around the country are celebrating like never before.

This story is absolutely incredible!  Nothing like it has ever happened before.  This team was a prohibited underdog in four straight games, and they won every single one of them!  To top it off, they no longer were allowed to play in the Georgia Dome after the tornado.  The SEC had to move the game to nearby Alexander Memorial Coliseum because the Dome was deemed no longer safe.  The only problem with that is AMC is where Georgia's hated cross-state rival Georgia Tech plays all of its home games.  So now they have to play the rest of the conference tournament on their rival's home court.  Crazy!

UGA memorabilia and apparel sales are going to go through the roof!  Now that this story is moving on to the next chapter, people from all across the USA are going to be glued to their television sets just to see what Georgia is going to do.  They are the "darlings" of this year's tournament.

I happen to be from Atlanta, so this is a wonderful time for me.  It is icing on the cake.  I am headed to Sportsmemorabilia.com to pick up my favorite UGA hat.  I will catch up with you after the first weekend of the tournament.  Until next time...

Here we are on Wednesday, the day before the Bulldogs’ first game is to be played in the NCAA Tournament.  Anticipation is rising for all UGA fans, especially the students.  Georgia is riding high following their championship weekend in the SEC Tournament and we as fans are ready to “get the show on the road.”

Although Georgia is not very deep on the bench, they do match up well against their opponent Xavier.  Xavier is built on solid guard play and transition defense.  Georgia is built on the leadership qualities of point guard Sundiata Gaines, solid rebounding and timely three point shooting.  The game should be close, and both teams will be looking to showcase their talents in front of a large audience in Washington, DC.

As the game on Thursday finally concluded, the beloved Bulldogs finally ran out of gas.  So, it just wasn’t meant to be.  Playing five games in six days proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Georgia’s gallant effort fell short and they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Xavier University.

As Georgia Bulldog fans, we will all look back on this moment with great fondness.  After all, our Dawg’s did shock the world by even getting into the tournament in the first place.  They definitely have something to build on coming into next year, and excitement for UGA basketball is at an all-time high.  With the return of Head Coach Dennis Felton, and a nucleus of young talent, the Bulldogs will be in the running for another SEC Championship.  We are disappointed but we know we can be proud of our team. 

We can take comfort in knowing that we are the first team in the modern era to go from Worst to First in Four Days.  Not a bad way to close out the year.