Athens, Ga. — Ezra Williams walked off the court glumly at the Southeastern Conference tournament, believing his blunder in the final seconds had cost Georgia not only the game, but a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament.
"I thought it was over when we lost to LSU," Williams said.
Instead, Williams and the rest of the Bulldogs were back on the court Monday, practicing for their first NCAA game since 1997. They still seemed a bit dazed at how everything worked out.
"Nah, I didn't think we would get in," senior guard Adrian Jones conceded. "I was thinking the worst."
No team will be watched more closely in the opening round than Georgia (16-14), which comes to the tournament saddled with the dubious distinction of equaling the most losses for an at-large team.
Villanova got in with 14 defeats in both 1990 and '91. Kansas State (1990) and LSU (1987) also were 14-loss teams that did enough to impress the selection committee.
Here's more fodder for Georgia's detractors: Only 10 other schools have won as few as 16 games and still received an at-large spot, most recently Texas in 1997.
"I love all those critics doubting us," Williams said with a smirk. "It pumps me up. I hope it motivates the rest of the team, too."
The selection committee rewarded the Bulldogs for keeping their heads above water and .500 while playing the nation's most difficult schedule.
"It has to be a factor," said Mike Tranghese, Big East commissioner and chairman of the committee. "There are too many teams from the power conferences who are trying to hide behind the fact that they are a member of a power conference."
Not the Bulldogs.
Fifteen of their 30 games were against teams that made the NCAA tournament; they went 6-9. Another eight opponents (totaling nine games) will be playing in the National Invitation Tournament.
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