Georgia is Likely to Improve Strength of Schedule, RPI Rating with Cincinnati Added as Dec. 2 Opponent

As an University of Georgia basketball fan, I believe the Bulldogs facing Cincinnati will provide a great challenge, but a great opportunity for the 2011-12 basketball team.

Last season, Georgia lost in two overtimes to Big East opponent, Notre Dame, 89-83.

This add of the Bearcats will be part of the SEC-Big East Invitational which convene December 1-3.

Georgia will have a few new players for this upcoming season and with the departures of talented underclassmen, Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins, it will be interesting to see how the Georgia Bulldogs will respond with a new group--especially in regard to team chemistry-- prior to entering conference play.

Gerald Robinson is likely to be one of the team leaders heading into the upcoming season for the Bulldogs who made the NCAA tournament last season as an at-large bid. Dustin Ware, a senior, is also back for a final season.

Robinson, a 6'1" guard had averaged 12.7 points a game for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs finished last season with a 21 and 12 record, 9 and 7 in the Southeastern Conference. The Bearcats had a very strong 2010-11 campaign and finished with a 26 and 9 mark along with 11 and 7 Big East Conference record.

The SEC/Big East Invitational is annual event that brings teams from the Big East Conference and the Southeastern Conference. The inaugural event had first commenced in 2007.

It's great to see that the Bulldogs managed to have a home game like this in front of the Bulldog fans here in Athens and if Georgia manages to win the game, it would do wonders for the RPI and strength of schedule numbers.

The Bulldogs are still in the process of developing their schedule for the upcoming season, but Cincinnati is a team with a reputation of being a tough defensive team and are returning four of their top scorers from last year in this December 2nd game.

One would think that these two times had played one another in a previous meeting or in the NCAA tournament, but that isn't the case. It will be the first time that these two teams have competed against each other.