The future is looking good for the Georgia Bulldogs this season as they make their way into Round One of the Tournament.

Georgia is on their way to the NCAA tournaments for the first time in 6 years. Things started to turn around for the Bulldogs when they won the SEC tournament and an automatic bid. It was one of the most incredible events in college basketball this year.

After winning only 4 SEC games during the regular season, the Bulldogs matched that total during 4 days in Atlanta. The SEC drew up a new schedule that has Georgia playing a doubleheader Saturday. They ended up beating Kentucky for the first time ever in the conference tournament and again going to overtime. The Bulldogs had a short break and then returned 6 hours later to beat Mississippi State, which won the SEC West.

Georgia lucked out when Tennessee is eliminated in the semifinals. However, there’s still the possibility of Arkansas making their way to the NCAA championship game. The Bulldogs got a 19 point lead and won the conference tournament for the first time since 1983.

Georgia missed the NCAA tournament in 2003. The Bulldogs won 19 games that year and would have received a postseason bid but scandalous allegations started to surface late in the year. There was talk of Coach Jim Harrick’s son sending illegal payments to a player which ended up being really bad press for Georgia. Harrick got fired and the Bulldogs ended up on NCAA probation. After that, Dennis Felton was hired to get things in order. He inherited a big mess but, given the circumstances, he did an amazing job.

It was a struggle though. The Bulldogs only won 2 games in the SEC and bottomed out at 8-20 in Felton’s second year. They somehow managed to get 19 wins last year and played in the NIT which raised hopes of a breakthrough season. Running a tight ship, Felton booted two of his best players off the team for breaking team rules. One more player quit and 2 others were lost to injuries.

Georgia made it through a 13-16 regular season with only 8 scholarship players and came in last in the SEC East. Many believed that Felton’s next loss would be his last with the Bulldogs going into the conference tournament. However, their week in Atlanta change all of that.