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WICHITA, Kan. — No, Mike White isn’t going to downplay the gravity of the week.
No. 9-seeded Georgia is making its return to the NCAA Tournament after a 10-year absence. The opponent is No. 8-seed Gonzaga, which is barreling into the Big Dance for the 26th straight year and seeking a 10th straight Sweet 16 berth.
Those lights are especially bright.
But the achievement is the achievement, and White isn’t planning on letting that slide by without internal recognition before Thursday’s 4:35 p.m. ET tip at INTRUST Bank Arena in the heart of Kansas.
“It's a big neutral site. We've had some neutral site games against high-level opponents. This is elevated. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that we've hyped this thing up with our guys,” White said Wednesday. “It's the NCAA Tournament, right? It's the big stage. It's what our guys came to Georgia for. It's really exciting for them. We're not going to downplay that.”
One set of Bulldogs — the ones with coach Mark Few and national assists leader Ryan Nemhardt — have been there, done that. The last time Gonzaga wasn’t in the field, Ron Jirsa was Georgia’s coach.
The other set of Dawgs — the ones that strung together a strong end to the season with four wins in their past five games to make the dance at all — have an extreme lack of that all-important experience.
Since the last time Gonzaga (25-8) was not part of the NCAA Tournament field, Georgia has won just three tournament games — the most recent coming in 2014-15.
That, obviously, comes with its challenges. Georgia is hyping up the moment, but trying to stay grounded when the lights come on.
“I would say we kind of don't weigh on our shoulders,” UGA guard Silas Demary Jr. said. “I think it's just, like you say, obviously a big-time moment to be in, but you want to take it as it's just another game. Just a game to have fun, a game to get better, just enjoy the team you have. You don't want to put too much pressure on one game.
“Obviously we haven't won a game in a long time. Everybody wants to win a game, but just to be here and to finally know that Georgia is kind of moving back in the right direction and this team has helped do that, I feel like we're in a good spot. We're just going to go out with confidence tomorrow.”
A likely berth with 1-seed Houston awaits in the Round of 32 for the team, so the challenges don’t exactly abate by way of backing down one college basketball behemoth.
More: Ezra Williams on last Georgia basketball team to win in NCAA Tournament, this year's Bulldogs
More: How to buy tickets for Georgia basketball vs Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament first round
To get there, Georgia is going to do something that no team has done since Davidson in the 2007-08 campaign: Beat Gonzaga in the first round.
“We're attacking it with hunger,” White said. “You know, we're chasing it with excitement. We're going to play with joy, and we're going to play with connection. We're playing a program that's been to a bunch of Sweet 16s in a row. It's important to them. It's got to be important to us just to play our best. Again, it's not nearly as much about outcomes for us. It's about playing well.
“It's just about playing well.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Why Georgia has ‘hyped up’ spotlight of NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga
Continue reading...
No. 9-seeded Georgia is making its return to the NCAA Tournament after a 10-year absence. The opponent is No. 8-seed Gonzaga, which is barreling into the Big Dance for the 26th straight year and seeking a 10th straight Sweet 16 berth.
Those lights are especially bright.
But the achievement is the achievement, and White isn’t planning on letting that slide by without internal recognition before Thursday’s 4:35 p.m. ET tip at INTRUST Bank Arena in the heart of Kansas.
“It's a big neutral site. We've had some neutral site games against high-level opponents. This is elevated. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that we've hyped this thing up with our guys,” White said Wednesday. “It's the NCAA Tournament, right? It's the big stage. It's what our guys came to Georgia for. It's really exciting for them. We're not going to downplay that.”
One set of Bulldogs — the ones with coach Mark Few and national assists leader Ryan Nemhardt — have been there, done that. The last time Gonzaga wasn’t in the field, Ron Jirsa was Georgia’s coach.
The other set of Dawgs — the ones that strung together a strong end to the season with four wins in their past five games to make the dance at all — have an extreme lack of that all-important experience.
Since the last time Gonzaga (25-8) was not part of the NCAA Tournament field, Georgia has won just three tournament games — the most recent coming in 2014-15.
That, obviously, comes with its challenges. Georgia is hyping up the moment, but trying to stay grounded when the lights come on.
“I would say we kind of don't weigh on our shoulders,” UGA guard Silas Demary Jr. said. “I think it's just, like you say, obviously a big-time moment to be in, but you want to take it as it's just another game. Just a game to have fun, a game to get better, just enjoy the team you have. You don't want to put too much pressure on one game.
“Obviously we haven't won a game in a long time. Everybody wants to win a game, but just to be here and to finally know that Georgia is kind of moving back in the right direction and this team has helped do that, I feel like we're in a good spot. We're just going to go out with confidence tomorrow.”
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A likely berth with 1-seed Houston awaits in the Round of 32 for the team, so the challenges don’t exactly abate by way of backing down one college basketball behemoth.
More: Ezra Williams on last Georgia basketball team to win in NCAA Tournament, this year's Bulldogs
More: How to buy tickets for Georgia basketball vs Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament first round
To get there, Georgia is going to do something that no team has done since Davidson in the 2007-08 campaign: Beat Gonzaga in the first round.
“We're attacking it with hunger,” White said. “You know, we're chasing it with excitement. We're going to play with joy, and we're going to play with connection. We're playing a program that's been to a bunch of Sweet 16s in a row. It's important to them. It's got to be important to us just to play our best. Again, it's not nearly as much about outcomes for us. It's about playing well.
“It's just about playing well.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Why Georgia has ‘hyped up’ spotlight of NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga
Continue reading...
