COLUMBIA, S.C. – With yet another win, Georgia is another step closer to an NCAA Tournament berth many thought was so improbable just over a week ago.
But after Tuesday night’s 73-64 win at South Carolina, that’s precisely the position the Bulldogs find themselves in.
However, head coach Mike White promises his team will not be looking ahead.
"We're a good team. We are. We can't worry about that because you just waste time and energy doing it," White said. "We just hope to have two really good practices, and this team will. I'd be shocked if we don't. We've had some really good wins on the road. Five-day road trip, the opportunity to spend a lot of time with one another and bond. Hopefully, we can continue to improve."
Blue Cain agreed with White.
Per Cain, the only focus for Georgia is Saturday's regular-season finale against Vanderbilt before turning the attention to next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville.
After that, they'll see where they sit as far as the 68-team field for the NCAAs is concerned.
“No, I mean, we've still got one more. We've got a bunch more, actually," Cain said. "We've got regular season; we've got the SEC tournament. We're just focused. What's got us there is just being focused on the game ahead of us. So, right now, all our focus is on that."
Tuesday's victory marked the first time since the 2016-2017 season that Georgia has won three-straight SEC games. That year, the Bulldogs beat Alabama on the road before defeating LSU and Auburn at home.
“There’s gonna be bumps in the road. There's gonna be highs and lows, that goes for life and basketball," sophomore Dylan James said. "You just play and move through that. It’s about just moving on to the next thing. We just try to play past the L's and the mistakes, so we can reap the benefits.”
Credit James for helping the Bulldogs secure Tuesday's huge victory.
Twice within the final 1:11, the Gamecocks closed within four. But each time, Georgia responded.
The final time came with 38 seconds left to play when James grabbed an offensive board and put it back up for two, extending Georgia’s lead to nine.
Moments earlier, James blocked a 3-point attempt by South Carolina that would have cut the lead to three.
"I thought their crowd was good late, too. (Collin) Murray-Boyles demands so much respect and attention, and those guys stepped up around him and made shots," White said. "But we did enough. We got enough stops down the stretch. We almost had a couple of good zone possessions. We got hands on basketballs, a couple tips where the ball didn't bounce our way, and we had to get out of zone. We made enough tough ones to survive."
After the Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points in the first half, South Carolina turned up its defensive pressure and cut Georgia’s lead to just 49-47 with 9:34 left.
That’s when Cain made a statement.
Back-to-back threes by the sophomore helped push Georgia’s lead back to 57-47, forcing a South Carolina timeout with 7:08 to play.
"In the first half, I had a similar play with Colin Murray-Boyles, and I pump faked and then shot like a fadeaway, and EP (Assistant Erik Pastrana) told me to shoot the first one whenever I got subbed out,” Cain said. “So, it was the same play, and I just let it fly and already made the first one, so I felt good.”
Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs with 16 points, followed by Cain with 14 and Asa Newell with 11.
The Bulldogs started the game as they did against Texas, playing a complete first half and jumping out to a 40-20 lead.
Georgia led from the opening tip, getting seven points from Demary Jr. over the first five minutes to put the Bulldogs in front 15-10.
Demary Jr. wasn’t the only Bulldog to have shots fall.
At one point in the first half, Georgia was shooting as high as 71 percent and led by as many as 14 points at 38-24.
The Bulldogs did not give the Gamecocks any help.
Georgia turned the ball over just twice in the first half while holding a 19-13 rebounding edge over South Carolina, which shot 34.4 percent (11 of 32).
Georgia closes out its regular season on Saturday at noon against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs will then prepare for the SEC Tournament in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. Georgia will play on March 12 against a still-to-be-determined opponent.
