Georgia entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday for the first time in 14 years. One day later, on Tuesday, the Bulldogs played at Tennessee. Four days after that, on Saturday, they'll host Auburn.
Ridiculous, right?
If you aren't aware of the specifics, what I'm trying to tell you is that after entering the AP poll for the first time in 14 years, Georgia's first game was on the road against the team ranked No. 1 last week (Tennessee), and its second game will be at home against the team ranked No. 1 this week. According to BartTorvik.com, that's the toughest two-game home-road split that exists in any conference this season.
I've heard some suggest Georgia needs to beat Auburn this weekend to keep its national ranking -- but I'm not so sure. Do the Bulldogs need to avoid a second straight blowout to keep their ranking after losing 74-56 at Tennessee earlier in the week? Perhaps. But Georgia is 23rd in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, same as it is in the AP poll. And I've just never believed it's absolutely necessary for a team ranked 23rd to beat teams ranked first (Auburn) and fifth (Tennessee) in order to keep a No. 23 next to its name.
At worst, on Sunday morning, Georgia will be 14-4 with wins over the teams ranked No. 6 (Kentucky) and No. 25 (St. John's) in the Top 25 And 1 -- and losses only to the schools ranked No. 1 (Auburn), No. 4 (Marquette), No. 5 (Tennessee) and No. 14 (Ole Miss). In other words, on Sunday morning, the worst-case scenario still has Georgia with two wins over teams in the Top 25 And 1 and zero losses to unranked teams. That body of work would still be rankable, in my opinion, unless Auburn embarrasses the Bulldogs on their home floor -- and, even then, maybe so.
As always, we'll see.
Or not.
Because the best way for Georgia to turn every word you just read into moot points is to just beat Auburn and remain undefeated at home. Do that, and the Bulldogs will be at no risk of falling out of anybody's rankings -- or, at least, they shouldn't be. To be clear, no, an upset isn't likely. And, for what it's worth, EvanMiya.com only gives Georgia a 32.8% chance to pull it off. But, it should be noted, crazier things happen in this sport literally every weekend, and that's why the idea of college basketball's top-ranked team losing inside Stegeman Coliseum this afternoon should not be totally dismissed.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 88-66 win over Mississippi State. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 22-2 | |
2 | Curtis Jones finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 74-57 win over Kansas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | -- | 19-5 | |
3 | Kon Knueppel finished with 25 points and three assists in Tuesday's 89-54 win over Miami. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Boston College. | -- | 20-3 | |
4 | David Joplin finished with 30 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 85-83 win at DePaul. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Xavier. | -- | 19-6 | |
5 | Zakai Zeigler finished with 16 points and six steals in Wednesday's 74-56 win over Georgia. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 20-5 | |
6 | Jaxson Robinson finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 81-69 win over Texas A&M. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 17-7 | |
7 | Denzel Aberdeen was 1-of-5 from the field in Tuesday's 83-82 loss to Missouri. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Missouri. | -- | 21-3 | |
8 | Labaron Philon was 0-of-8 from the field in Tuesday's 74-64 loss to Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Kentucky. | -- | 21-3 | |
9 | Frankie Fidler finished with 18 points and four steals in Wednesday's 90-85 win over Penn State. The Spartans' next game is Sunday against Illinois. | -- | 19-5 | |
10 | Jackson Shelstad finished with 17 points and eight assists in Sunday's 82-81 win at Penn State. The Ducks' next game is Saturday against Purdue. | -- | 17-8 | |
11 | Cameron Matthews was 2-of-10 from the field in Tuesday's 88-66 loss at Auburn. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Ole Miss. | -- | 17-7 | |
12 | Hunter Dickinson was 3 of 10 from the field in Wednesday's 74-57 loss at Iowa State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Kansas State. | -- | 17-7 | |
13 | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 69-58 win at Washington. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at Oregon. | -- | 19-6 | |
14 | Malik Dia finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds in Tuesday's 74-64 win at Alabama. The Rebels' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | 1 | 18-6 | |
15 | Kylan Boswell finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 94-69 win at Indiana. The Illini's next game is Sunday at Michigan State. | 1 | 17-8 | |
16 | Solomon Washington was 1-of-6 from the field in Tuesday's 81-69 loss at Kentucky. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against LSU. | 1 | 19-5 | |
17 | Colby Rogers was 2-of-9 from the field in Thursday's 88-81 loss at Temple. The Tigers' next game is Sunday at Charlotte. | 3 | 20-4 | |
18 | Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 68-60 win at Georgetown. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Creighton. | 1 | 17-7 | |
19 | Roddy Gayle Jr. was 0-of-6 from the field in Thursday's 84-81 loss at Minnesota. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Northwestern. | 1 | 19-5 | |
20 | J'Wan Roberts finished with 22 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 70-54 win over West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at UCF. | 1 | 20-4 | |
21 | John Tonje finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 70-68 win over Ohio State. The Badgers' next game is Saturday at USC. | 1 | 19-5 | |
22 | Caleb Grill finished with 22 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 83-82 win at Florida. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | 1 | 17-6 | |
23 | Blue Cain was 2 of 9 from the field in Wednesday's 74-56 loss at Tennessee. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | 1 | 16-9 | |
24 | Khalif Battle was 4-of-13 from the field in Thursday's 97-89 loss in overtime at Oregon State. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Santa Clara. | 4 | 18-7 | |
25 | RJ Luis Jr. finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 63-58 win over Georgetown. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday at Seton Hall. | -- | 21-3 | |
26 | Jaden Bradley finished with 13 points and six assists in Tuesday's 81-70 win over Baylor. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 17-7 |