Simply put, Georgia won its series finale in baseball against Tennessee on Sunday in one of the most thrilling ways imaginable. Georgia left fielder Cole Johnson’s leaping catch robbed Vols catcher Stone Lawless of a home run that would’ve given Tennessee the lead in the ninth inning.
Lawless clearly thought the ball was heading over the fence. As you’ve no doubt seen from the viral videos online, he spiked his bat in a prelude to what he assumed was going to be a slow home run trot around the bases. Instead it was the Diamond Dawgs who would celebrate — both a win Sunday and a series victory too.
What a way to begin the SEC slate for UGA.
Elsewhere, Georgia basketball found out its NCAA Tournament destination. It’ll play late Thursday night as a No. 8 seed against ninth-seeded St. Louis in Buffalo, New York. If the Bulldogs win, they’ll likely face No. 1 seed Michigan in the second round.
It’s a tough draw, but it’s also great to see UGA in the Big Dance once again.
Good luck with your bracket, and check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
When is the last time Georgia basketball earned NCAA Tournament bids in consecutive seasons?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia basketball returns to NCAA Tournament
Georgia basketball will begin its NCAA Tournament run in the cold confines of Buffalo, New York.
The Bulldogs earned a No. 8 seed in the bracket, the NCAA announced Sunday. Georgia will face St. Louis on Thursday in the first round, with the winner advancing to play either top-seeded Michigan, Howard or Maryland, Baltimore County.
It marks the first time Georgia has earned a bid in consecutive years since 2002.
“Our program is in a really good place,” coach Mike White said. “We were really excited about the opportunity to come rebuild this thing. … We hope to be in this situation more often than not.”
The Bulldogs competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, but excitement still surrounded their most recent bid. A chorus of cheers could be heard across the hall from where the team watched the selection show as its name popped onto the screen.
“Everybody was ready to play,” junior guard Smurf Millender said. “We’re just happy to keep playing.”
Georgia, which won a program-record 22 games during the regular season, has not advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 24 years. The Bulldogs made it to the second round in only four of their 13 appearances, two of which were later vacated.
The Bulldogs aspire to change that, but will need to get past an explosive St. Louis team to do so.
“We’re playing a dangerous team,” White said. “And we’re pretty dangerous ourselves.”
Georgia women’s basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament.
In Sunday’s tournament bracket announcement, the Bulldogs earned a No. 7 seed. They will face either Virginia or Arizona State on Saturday in the first round, with the winner advancing to play Iowa, the host team, or Fairleigh Dickinson in the Iowa City, Iowa, bracket.
It marks Georgia’s first NCAA Tournament bid in three years.
The Bulldogs, who made five Final Fours between 1983 and 1999, have advanced past the first round in four consecutive NCAA Tournament outings. They will look to extend the streak this season against either Virginia or Arizona State, with those No. 10 seeds playing Thursday in the First Four bracket.
Georgia last faced Virginia in 2017 and last played Arizona State in 2004.
Georgia earned a bid in 37 of 42 NCAA Tournaments but spiraled after coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s first season. After making an appearance in 2022 — and beating Florida State in the first round — the Bulldogs posted a 25-37 record over the next two seasons.
Georgia nearly matched that win total this year, finishing the regular season with a 22-8 record that included an 8-8 mark in conference play. The performance earned the Bulldogs their highest seeding in four years.
Georgia guard Blue Cain (left), Georgia forward Justin Abson and Georgia forward Kanon Catchings during Georgia's game against Alabama earlier this month.
Credit: Emil Madden/UGAAA
Georgia basketball throwback
March 27, 1983: Georgia basketball beat Michael Jordan’s North Carolina team 82-77 in the Elite Eight to advance to its only Final Four in program history.
The 5 Georgia football players we’ll be talking about as breakout players after spring practice
On Tuesday, the Georgia football program will take the field for the first of its 15 practices this spring.
But these practices won’t be spent preparing for future opponents, as the Bulldogs will be focused on internal improvement.
That will give younger players the chance to show coaches they’re capable of taking on bigger roles for the upcoming season.
While there isn’t any buzz before the start of practice, we expect these five players to be among those who get Georgia fans even more excited for the upcoming season.
