ATHENS — If Georgia basketball is to make any sort of conventional regular-season run for an NCAA tournament bid, it must start today.

The Bulldogs (16-10, 6-7) bring a modest two-game win streak into Tuscaloosa where they’ll face the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (22-4, 12-1) at 6 p.m. (TV: SEC Network).

First-year Georgia coach Mike White sees the game for what it is, a golden opportunity for a UGA program starving for RPI points, currently 124th in the nation (11th among SEC teams).

“How many times in life do you have an opportunity to play the number one team in the country? Pretty cool,” said White, the Bulldogs’ first-year head coach.

In the history of Georgia basketball, the Bulldogs are 0-17 against No. 1 ranked teams. It serves as all the more incentive to score a “shock the world” type of victory.

White made it clear there will be a mountain to climb for that to happen.

“They have a chance to win it all, they’re really, really good,” White said. “Obviously, we’re going to have to play by far our best game to be competitive, but we’ll see.”

The Las Vegas oddsmakers see mighty Alabama — No. 1 in the RPI rankings — as an 18 1/2-point favorite over Georgia.

Of course, the Bulldogs were 14 1/2-point underdog to the Tide last season and pulled off a stirring 82-76 upset under former coach Tom Crean that had the student section chanting “Just like football!”

Senior guard Jaxon Etter was one of the Georgia starters that day, playing lockdown defense while making all three of his shots from the floor and both free throw attempts in UGA’s marquee win of the 2021-22 season.

“We’ve been locked in,” said Etter, who has appeared in only 11 games this season but might be due an opportunity against Alabama today.

“I think one of the things that Coach White has done that I love is treating this game like LSU, like Texas A&M, like any other team,” he said. “I think we learned a lot from Tennessee. They showed us that Alabama is beatable.”

The Vols knocked off the Tide by a 68-59 count last Wednesday in Knoxville, exerting a physical style of play and smothering defense.

That approach is right up White’s alley, as that’s what it took for Georgia to beat an ultra-talented Kentucky team at home last Saturday.

An upset over Alabama appears more far-fetched on the surface, particularly when one takes into account the Bulldogs are just 1-7 on the road.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who scored 13 points off the bench in Georgia’s win over Alabama last season, indicated the Bulldogs will not be intimated in Coleman Coliseum.

“We feel good (after) two wins against two really good teams at home, we feel confident, Abdur-Rahim said in the release. “I feel like we needed a little bit more momentum going in what’s going to be a challenge at Alabama, but I feel like we are ready for it.

“There is going to be a pretty good environment there, so we are just going to try to keep our emotions in check and not get too rattled but come out aggressive and confident.”

The SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament is in sight with the Bulldogs running out of runway for any sort of late-season takeoff that could launch the program into the postseason.

Here’s a look at Georgia’s remaining regular-season games:

• At Arkansas, 9 p.m., Tuesday

• Vs. Missouri, 1 p.m., next Saturday

• Vs. Florida, 7 p.m., Feb. 28

• At South Carolina, 1 p.m. March 4

The SEC Tournament begins on March 8 in Nashville.

The Bulldogs are currently the No. 10 seed and could avoid playing on the first night if they can hold their position in the league standings.

If the season were to end today, Georgia would play current No. 7 seed Vanderbilt on the second day of the 14-team tournament.

How the SEC teams stack up entering the action this Saturday:

Alabama 12-1 SEC, 22-4 overall (Home vs. Georgia, 6 p.m.)

Texas A&M 11-2 SEC, 19-7 overall (At Missouri, 6 p.m.)

Tennessee 9-4 SEC, 20-6 overall (At Kentucky, 1 p.m.)

Auburn 8-5 SEC, 18-8 overall (At Vanderbilt, 8:30 p.m.)

Kentucky 8-5 SEC, 17-9 overall (Home vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m.)

Missouri 7-6 SEC, 19-7 overall (Home vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.)

Vanderbilt 7-6 SEC, 14-12 overall (Home vs. Auburn, 8:30 p.m.)

Florida 7-6 SEC, 14-12 overall (At Arkansas, 2 p.m.)

Arkansas 6-7 SEC, 17-9 overall (Home vs. Florida, 2 p.m.)

Georgia 6-7 SEC, 16-10 overall (At Alabama, 6 p.m.)

Miss. State 5-8 SEC, 17-9 overall (At Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m.)

Ole Miss 2-11 SEC, 10-16 overall (Home vs. Miss. State, 3:30 p.m.)

South Carolina 2-11 SEC, 9-17 overall (At LSU, 1 p.m.)

LSU 1-12 SEC, 12-14 overall (Home vs. South Carolina, 1 p.m.)