As frustrating as the SEC portion of the schedule was at times for Georgia’s basketball team, the Bulldogs are attempting to make up for it in the National Invitational Tournament.

After Sunday’s 72-66 win at Wake Forest, Georgia (19-16) is heading to the quarterfinal round, where the Bulldogs will face off against Ohio State in Columbus.

The game is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will be televised by ESPN.

"To win at Wake is hard. Albeit at the NIT, I'll take it," head coach Mike White said. 'This was a good win for us."

It was Georgia's first victory in the second round of the NIT since 1998 against N.C. State.

Justin Hill led the Bulldogs with 21 points, followed by Noah Thomasson with 19 points, then Dylan James with a career-high 14 points, 12 coming on four 3-pointers. Thomasson hit 5 of 8 from beyond the arch for the Bulldogs, who converted 14 of their 27 3-point attempts (51.9 percent). The 14 3-pointers tied a season high.

Georgia's win was even more impressive given the challenges it faced. The Bulldogs played the game without Jabri Abdur Rahim, RJ Sunahra, and center Russel Tchewa. Abdur-Rahim remains out with an ankle injury, while Sunahra missed the game with an undisclosed injury. Tchewa sat out with an undisclosed illness, per the Georgia radio broadcast.

"It was unique we were without Sunahra and Tchewa, but our guys rallied around the fact that we were shorthanded," White said. "That was about as hard as we've played in the first half, especially on the road, all season."

While Georgia was converting its 3-pointers, Wake Forest was not. The Demon Deacons made just 3 of 22, as Georgia led by as many as 19 points with 16:46 to play.

"I didn't have any idea we'd be this hot; I just knew we were getting good shots," Hill said. "They weren't falling at first, but then then kept rolling in. After that, we just tried to get stops and keep getting good shots on the offensive end."

The Demon Deacons (21-14) would close within six at the 6:18 mark and later drew within four at 45 seconds left. But the Bulldogs kept Wake Forest just out of reach as a trio of free throws by Justin Hill and one by Thomasson over the final few seconds secured the win.

Georgia was helped by the fact that the Demon Deacons played the game without All-ACC performer Hunter Sallis due to an ankle injury.

"I learned (that Sallis was not playing) during shootaround when I saw him in a boot," Hill said. "But our game plan didn't change. We still had a game to play, a game still to win. We just had to go out and play hard."

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, played the game without Abdur-Rahim, who was unable to go due to an ankle he injured against Texas A&M.

"They're not the same without one of the best guards in the ACC," White said. "He's had an amazing year, and they've done a great job with him as they had their other guys. But this was a big win for us."

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