The obvious objective at this week's Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament in Nashville is to be the last team standing.
For a second consecutive year, Georgia could be the first team out.
Despite a heralded freshman class headed by five-star shooting guard Anthony Edwards, the Bulldogs struggled to a 15-16 record during the regular season and a 5-13 mark in conference contests. Georgia is the 13th seed in the league tournament and will open the five-day event Wednesday night against 12th-seeded Ole Miss, which whipped the Bulldogs 70-60 in Athens on Jan. 25.
The Bulldogs have arrived in Nashville with no momentum whatsoever, having been outscored 40-24 during the second half of last Wednesday's 68-54 loss to visiting Florida and having been thrashed 94-64 Saturday at LSU, where they were outscored by 15 in each half.
"Our inconsistencies throughout the year have really shown up the last couple of games," Georgia second-year coach Tom Crean said this week. "Some of that is youth and the inexperience of understanding how to sustain and how to keep going. When you're having to rely on freshmen, you're going to have some of those inconsistencies."
Georgia was the 13th seed last March and fell 71-61 to 12th-seeded Missouri.
Edwards ranks third in the league in scoring at 19.5 points per game but could join the likes of Ben Simmons (LSU) and Markelle Fultz (Washington) as elite one-year college talents whose teams failed to reach the NCAA tournament. This year is especially unique on that front, as the top five signees in the 2019 class - James Wiseman (formerly of Memphis), Edwards, Isaiah Stewart (Washington), Cole Anthony (North Carolina) and RJ Hampton (bypassed college to play in Australia) - are on track to miss out on competing in the 68-team field.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Edwards was just 3-of-10 from the floor against Florida and went 6-of-22 at LSU, and he has avoided any reminiscing about his one expected season in Athens that is drawing to a close.
"I'm not big on how I did," Edwards said last week in a news conference. "It's always about my team, and I feel like my team has pushed me to be the best player that I can be."
Edwards was named Tuesday as the SEC's freshman of the year by The Associated Press and by league coaches.
There have been plenty of bright moments this season for the Bulldogs, who won at Memphis and notched double-digit home victories over Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Yet this season will be remembered more for the double-digit leads Georgia squandered in both setbacks against Florida and in losses to visiting Alabama, at Missouri and at Texas A&M.
In one four-game stretch, Georgia defeated Texas A&M but lost a 20-point lead at Missouri, a 22-point lead at Florida and a 12-point lead against Alabama.
"The effort has been there, but what happens is that the disappointment can turn quickly into discouragement, and you feel defeated," Crean said of the blown leads. "Our spirit to practice and our energy in practice have been fantastic, so it's not any kind of issue with that. It's more of how you handle the ups and downs inside of the game, and we have a team that's so young that they get their heads down so fast at times.
"You have to continue to fight through that. We were down five with 17 seconds to go at Vanderbilt and found a way to win it, but overcoming in-game failure and a defeated attitude when there is still time left is where our youth can show up, unfortunately."
The Bulldogs defeated the Commodores 80-78 on Feb. 22, when senior guard Tyree Crump made a 30-footer at the buzzer. Crump was diagnosed with mononucleosis last Thursday, making Crean's challenge this week even tougher.
"He brings such emotional energy to our guys, and we're going to miss that," Crean said.
Georgia ranks fourth among SEC teams in points (75.7) and rebounds (37.9) per game, and the Bulldogs are fifth in field-goal accuracy (44.8%). Where the Bulldogs struggle are in 3-point attempts, as their 29.8% clip ranks 12th in the conference.
The Bulldogs were just 3-for-26 (11.5%) from long range at LSU, with Edwards going 1-for-12 (8.3%).
"The hardest thing for any young player offensively to understand is spacing and how important that spacing is," Crean said. "It's important to be behind the line and ready to shoot, because players are used to having the ball and coming to the ball and creeping in to the ball. Spacing takes time to develop."
No media allowed
The SEC announced Tuesday afternoon that media will not have access to locker rooms at this week's tournament. The league's decision follows the same stance announced Monday by Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.