ATHENS — Georgia basketball is fine, it just needs to start making more shots.
Really, these Bulldogs are about where they should be at 15-7 overall and 3-6 in the SEC, a projected fringe NCAA tournament team.
Sounds crazy, but it’s not.
Yes, Coach Mike White’s team has lost five of its last six and is coming off a 21-point road loss at Alabama.
But take it from SEC coaching giant John Calipari, whose talented Razorbacks are just 2-6 in league play, “you’re gonna lost three out of four, four out of five, two or three in a row, because of this league.”
Calipari made those comments Saturday night after triumphantly returning to Rupp Arena with a win over a Kentucky program he ran for 15 years.
“All you want to rack up is quad one wins, that’s the most important thing,” Calipari said. “This is may be the best league ever — ever.”
Calipari is not exaggerating — ESPN expert Joe Lunardi is projecting the league will set a new NCAA tourney record with 12 teams in the field.
That said, Georgia basketball does need to bounce back and start winning games again.
That means taking care of business at home (which it has), and stealing one or two on the road (which it has yet to do) to earn its way into the NCAA field.
This week is about protecting the home court against LSU (12-9, 1-7) at 9 p.m. on Wednesday and No. 14 Mississippi Sate (16-6, 4-5) at 6 p.m next Saturday.
The home court is more powerful than ever, as Tennessee showed on Saturday with its 20-point home win over a Florida team that it lost to by 30 points on the road earlier this season.
“I think SEC fans need to get used to this roller coaster,” Lunardi said earlier this season.
“I think we’re gonna see even the top teams in the conference taking losses, because … not just the top half of this league, but the top three quarters of this league are all NCAA tournament caliber.”
The UGA fanbase is as guilty as any of having a “football mentality” — understandably, with Kirby Smart setting a historic standard of winning on the gridiron.
But basketball is different when it comes to the value of absorbing losses and recognizing how the season is a journey in tournament sports like basketball.
A look at Georgia’s 90-69 final score at Alabama might not seem encouraging, but the Tide is currently projected to be the No. 2 overall seed in the nation.
And, you’re just not going to win many games — much less on the road against a Top Two team — when you’re shooting less than 50 percent from the free-throw line and less than 25 percent from 3-point range, as Georgia did on Saturday.
The same UGA players who want to make a name for themselves as being a part of turning it around are inexplicably missing free throws At Alabama, Dylan James was 1-of-5 shooting free throws, Tyrin Lawrence 2-4, RJ Godfrey 2-4, Somto Cyril 0-2, Dakota Leffew 1-2 and team captain Silas Demary Jr. 1-2.
Only freshman Asa Newell, the first-round NBA prospect, was over 50 percent from the free-throw line for Georgia at Alabama, a perfect 4 of 4.
Calipari talked about the importance of shooting after beating Kentucky, as he reflected on an earlier Arkansas loss this season.
“We end games with eight or nine 10 turnovers, and I’m like, how do we lose games?” Calipari said. “Well you shoot 35 percent and 26 from three, you’re not winning, not in this league, you can’t get away with it.”
Indeed, the Bulldogs forced 20 Alabama turnovers while committing just six themselves, numbers that most always lead to victory.
“It’s definitely frustrating, there are some positives, though,” White said. " You get beat 20 on the road, that may be a surprise for you for me to use the word ‘positive,’ I know, but I’m talking to myself as well and talking to my guys to keep it in perspective.”
White pointed out that UGA gave up 29 points off turnovers in its previous road loss at No. 5 Florida, and Alabama got just 5 points off turnovers on Saturday.
“We come into Alabama and have six turnovers and had two or three really loud ones, (but) for the most part we made really good decisions, executed some stuff,” White said. “We got a lot of post touches, drew a lot of fouls, that’s what we do as good as anyone in the league, put pressure on the rim.”
This week is a big one, much like the football team had to respond to its historically difficult schedule and find the “mental bandwith” — as Kirby called it — to persevere through adversity.
The feeling here is that, No, this isn’t the same old Georgia basketball program, any more than this is the same old SEC.
The UGA fans who look closely at what has transpired, and what’s still ahead, should be at the edge of their seats, guardedly optimistic.
“Did we play cleaner offensively, yes we did, and we’d spent a lot of time on it,” White said, identifying what Georgia did impressively well in the loss to Alabama.
“Something clicked with our guys, we’ve thrown the ball in the post more, and our bigs are making really good decisions. Roles are being defined more the way we want them, the way we are morphing.”
Here’s a look at Georgia’s SEC schedule — what is behind the Bulldogs, and what’s ahead, with Georgia needing to find five more wins to have a good resume to make the tournament.
(Road games in bold)
Jan. 4 at No. 24 Ole Miss, 63-51 loss
Jan. 7 home vs. No. 6 Kentucky, 82-69 win
Jan. 11 home vs. No. 17 Oklahoma, 72-62 win
Jan. 15 at No. 6 Tennessee, 74-56 loss
Jan. 18 home vs. No. 1 Auburn, 70-68 loss
Jan. 22 at Arkansas, 68-65 loss
Jan. 25 at No. 5 Florida, 89-59 loss
Jan. 28 home South Carolina 71-60 win
Feb. 1 at No. 4 Alabama, 90-69 loss
AHEAD
Feb. 5 vs. LSU at home
Feb. 8 vs. No. 14 Mississippi State at home
Feb. 11 at No. 13 Texas A&M
Feb. 15 vs. No. 20 Missouri at home
Feb 22 at No. 1 Auburn
Feb. 25 vs. No. 5 Florida at home
March 1 at Texas
March 4 at South Carolina
March 8 vs No. 24 Vanderbilt at home
SEC Standings
(conference games only)
Auburn 8-0
Alabama 8-1
Missouri 6-2
Texas A&M 6-3
Florida 5-3
Tennessee 5-4
Ole Miss 5-4
Vanderbilt 4-4
Kentucky 4-4
Mississippi State 4-5
Texas 4-5
Oklahoma 3-5
Georgia 3-6
Arkansas 2-6
LSU 1-7
South Carolina 0-8