Georgia To Take On St. Louis Billikens In Tournament Opener: Opening Odds/Preview

Mar 3, 2026; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mike White reacts with his players after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images The tournament committee has spoken, and what they had to tell the Ge

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What is the story about?

The tournament committee has spoken, and what they had to tell the Georgia Bulldogs actually could have been worse.

The Hoop Hounds have been slotted into the Midwest Regional and given a #8 seed. They’ll open the tournament Thursday against the St. Louis Billikens, most recently seen dropping a tough, back and forth Atlantic 10 conference tournament semifinal matchup to the Dayton Flyers.

To be clear, the Billikens (28-5, 15-3 in conference) won’t be an easy out. They’ll open are a tough midmajor

opponent, and were the top seed in the Atlantic Ten tournament. Nevertheless the Red and Black have opened as 2.5 point favorite over the Billikens at FanDuel. Some of that could be attributable to the Billikens’ lack of quality wins against Power 4 opponents this season. They’ve been consistently good against mid-major competition, but Georgia will definitely present a physical test.

In light of the Bulldogs’ early exit from the SEC Tournament, I was a bit worried about falling to a 9 seed and potentially getting an opening tilt against one of those 8 seeds who really deserve to be a 7 or 6. This matchup isn’t that (see Georgia’s matchup with Gonzaga last year for an idea what that looks like). Still, if Mike White’s team picks up a round one win they’ll be rewarded with a second round contest against top-seeded Michigan in Chicago, a locale chock full of Michigan fans and alums. That would be…. difficult, to say the least. But for now, the Bulldogs are dancing, and we intend to enjoy it. And who knows, history confirms that somebody’s going to pull an upset. Might as well be us. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

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