NCAA Results: Georgia Finally Comes Back to Earth against Xavier

After resurrecting their season to get into the NCAA tournament, the Georgia Bulldogs ran out of steam. The bulldogs started the SEC tournament with very little hope of going anywhere in the postseason. They began their miraculous run by upsetting Ole Miss in overtime in the first game of the SEC tournament. The following night they were kept out of their game in the Georgia Dome by the tornado which struck Atlanta during the Mississippi State - Alabama game and forced to play Saturday on the Georgia Tech campus after the games were moved from the Georgia Dome.

They outlasted Kentucky in overtime again to advance against the SEC western Division Champion Mississippi State Bulldogs. They defeated the bulldogs in the second game on Saturday and came back Sunday to defeat Arkansas and get the chance to face Xavier. Their coach, Dennis Felton, saved his job which was on the line from rabid Georgia fans after a disappointing season in the perennially tough SEC western division. They defeated three teams that are in the NCAA tournament to get their season record to 17-16 and the NCAA first round Bid.

The game against Xavier began with the momentum of the SEC tournament and the Bulldogs owned the first half showing surprising energy for a team that played three tough games in a little over 30 hours at the SEC tournament. The led Xavier at halftime 35-26 and seemed poised to continue their Cinderella run.

The first four minutes of the second half they managed to hold off Xavier and led by a score of 42-32 when Xavier began to control the game with their stellar defensive play and accurate free throw shooting and two consecutive 3 pointers by Billy Humphrey. Once Xavier went ahead with just under 7 minutes remaining in the game, the Georgia balloon had deflated and they could not stem the momentum of a Xavier team that was finally playing as thought they deserved the No. 3 seed.

Georgia made one more run to pull within 3 at 64-61 with a little over a minute to play in the game but Xavier put down their rally with a 9-0 run as the game ended to move on to play the winner of Purdue vs. Baylor on Saturday. Georgia goes back home with an SEC Tournament Championship and Dennis Felton has another year to rebuild in the SEC.

http://www.eyedoctornewsletter.com/georgiaxavier