Brandon Garrison and the Cats hope to be one of many SEC teams headed for NCAA play again. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Georgia coach Mike White predicted at the 2024 SEC Media Days that the Southeastern Conference could get 10 or more teams in the NCAA Tournament. He was right as a record 14 of the 16 conference teams made the 68-team field.
“We finally broke through. It was an historical year, absolutely incredible, probably a little bit more unique to me and some others probably in this room in that we’re in the SEC, right?” White said at this year’s SEC Media Days. “I’ve been in the SEC, as I was talking with (SEC Network analyst) Daymeon Fishback about, since we were both 18 years old. We both have an affinity for this league, for each institution in this league. It was really cool to see 14 go.”
White said it was about halfway through non-conference play a year ago when SEC teams dominated mid-major opponents and then also won numerous games against quality opponents that the strength of the league jumped out at everyone.
“Our league was abnormally old last year. We had an incredible amount of experience. Our league is not as experienced (this year),” White said. “Do I anticipate us still being the best league in college basketball? I do. I really do.
“Be hard to match what we did last year. I know we’re all going to aim to do the same thing. I’m sure we’re locked in on our own team and growth and development. That’s where we are at Georgia.
“It’s going to be another great year in the SEC. We’ll see how great.”
2 Responses
The SEC league office has found that the league has greater success in getting bids for the BIg Dance when Kentucky isn't the dominant team in the conference. That is why they give us the hardest schedule possible while making it softer for our rivals. Kentucky having an undefeated SEC season is the SEC's worst nightmare. Such an outcome would result in the league getting 6 bids at the max. Last year, SEC teams got bids by virtue of beating Kentucky. No Kentucky win, no bid. It's all about the money.
The game has change, you wont see anybody dominated the league like Ky once did. Them days are over.
Comments are closed.