ATHENS — Georgia basketball faces the equivalent of a full-court press with its remaining SEC schedule and an NCAA tournament appearance still within reach, even after the team took a home-court hit on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs failed to take care of business at home in Stegeman Coliseum in a critical showdown with Mississippi State, falling short 76-75 in gut-wrenching fashion.

Georgia guard Silas Demary Jr. played what Coach Mike White said was perhaps his best game with 23 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds — until his one turnover in the final seconds with the Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7 SEC) needing a basket.

Style points and close calls don’t factor into the NCAA tourney metrics— this will be seen as a Quad 1 loss that has dropped UGA three spots in the “NET” rankings to 34th.

That No. 34 ranking is far better than any Georgia basketball team has seen in some time, it just so happens to be in a year where the SEC is historically dominant, to the extent the league has 10 of the top 33 teams in the NET rankings as of Sunday morning.

This season’s SEC is arguably the best basketball conference of all-time, projected to get 12 or 13 teams in the 68-team NCAA tournament field -- which would break the Big East’s record of 11 teams making the NCAA tourney in 2011.

That Mississippi State team (17-6, 5-5) that beat Georgia is Sweet 16 good — No. 29 in the NET rankings, and riding a string of two-straight NCAA tourney appearances.

But these are the types of games White’s Bulldogs have to be able to win, and the margin is razor thin in such matchups.

ESPN “Bubble Watch” dropped UGA’s chances of making the NCAA tourney from 50 percent to 41 percent with the loss to the Maroon Bulldogs.

It’s important to keep in mind — and White’s players certainly will — that those odds are based on what the computer expects Georgia to do in these final seven games down the stretch of the SEC schedule.

If the Bulldogs can go 4-3 in those seven remaining games — likely as underdogs in five of them — they stand a decent chance of making the NCAA tournament.

Sunday is a day to reset in the gym, which White said the Bulldogs will be doing, as there’s no time to look back at Saturday night’s missed opportunity.

Georgia players must continue to believe in each other, putting in extra time after practices at the free-throw line and shooting beyond the arc so they know they deserve for those shots to fall, and maintain their confidence and sense of urgency.

There’s a 9 p.m. tip waiting for the Bulldogs at Reed Arena in College Station on Tuesday night, and Georgia is capable of stealing a win against No. 10 Texas A&M.

After that, the Bulldogs need to come home and protect the home court at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday against a No. 15 Missouri that’s dropped its last two games and faces Oklahoma in a 9 p.m. game on Wednesday.

Georgia has won back-to-back games against ranked opponents before handling a then-No. 6-ranked Kentucky and a once-No. 17-ranked Oklahoma in their second and third games of the SEC season back in January.

The Bulldogs are better team now than they were then, even after the uncharacteristic defensive lapses that led to their undoing against Mississippi State.

White said there were “100 plays” Georgia could have made the would have changed the outcome, and he also said that just an “average” output getting back on defense would have done the trick.

And now White, and team captain Demary Jr., must find the words to keep the team engaged after a heartbreaking defeat.

Can this version of Georgia Bulldogs match the resiliency Kirby Smart’s football team showed bouncing back last season from disappointments and adversity to attain a season goal?

To be clear, if Georgia basketball reaches the NCAA tournament for the first time in 10 years, that achievement would mean as much to that program as what the football team accomplished winning the SEC Championship Game.

The Basketball Bulldogs can still change the narrative, but they’ll have to do it one bounce, one rebound and one defensive possession at a time.

There’s a telltale basketball statistic referred to as the “Plus-Minus,” as within the expanded boxscore the statistic reflects how the team performed on the scoreboard with each player.

Demary Jr. was an eye-popping Plus-11 — that means Georgia outscored Mississippi State by 11 points the 34 minutes he was on the floor.

That’s why White is not about to put the loss Saturday on his team leader’s shoulders, any more than Kirby Smart would blame Trevor Etienne for a first-quarter fumble inside the Notre Dame 10-yard line in the Sugar Bowl.

The football analogy is important, because basketball, like football, is a team game that goes much deeper than one seemingly obvious play or team statistic.

Mississippi State outscoring Georgia 46-28 in the paint was more of byproduct of poor defense than the Bulldogs getting pushed around.

There were promising signs of growth in this loss, too, with UGA shooting an impressive 46.3-percent from the floor, including 38.1-percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Extra shots and focus from the free-throw line have also clearly been addressed at Georgia, the team shooting 77.3-percent from the charity stripe.

Freshman Asa Newell, recently named a top-10 candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the nation’s top center, was a proficient 5-of-8 shooting — including 3-of-4 from three — despite double-teams.

It was Newell, in fact, who went on a 5-0 run with two free throws and a made 3 (off a Demary Jr. assist) to tie the game at 71-71 with 4:04 left after Mississippi State had surged ahead by five points as the 5-minute mark hit.

Had Georgia pulled off the comeback, they would have been the first of 12 teams to beat Coach Chris Jans’ well-coached team after trailing at half.

But White and his players will tell you the time for moral victories has passed.

It’s going to take wins, as underdogs, for Georgia to prove wrong preseason prognosticators and skeptical fans.

Here’s a look at UGA’s remaining SEC schedule

(each team’s current “NET” ranking)

Tuesday, 9 p.m.: At Texas A&M (No. 13 NET)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m.: Vs. Missouri (No. 23)

Feb. 22, 4 p.m.: At Auburn (No. 1)

Feb. 25, 7 p.m.: Vs. Florida (No. 5)

Mar 1, 8 p.m.: At Texas (No. 31)

Mar 4, 6 p.m.: At South Carolina (No. 90)

Mar 8, Noon: Vs. Vanderbilt (No. 41)