Georgia Bulldogs
1. Seriously, They Actually Did That. We'll be talking about what Georgia did during the SEC tournament for years, but dammit, we need to acknowledge again, just so that the fickle hand of Internet history records that we recognized. The Bulldogs won four games during the SEC regular season (they also lost at home to East Tennessee State) ... and then, in the midst of a tornado and TWO GAMES IN THE SAME DAY, they won four during the tourney to clinch a bid. They weren't even particularly hot coming into the tourney; they'd lost five of six and 10 of 12 going into Atlanta.
2. Doin' It For The Coach. As you'd probably expect when your team loses 10 of 12 to finish the season, Georgia fans weren't exactly doing backflips over keeping coach Dennis Felton around. Brought in to clean the program up after Jim Harrick did what Jim Harrick does, Felton was wearing on fans' patience with no tourney appearances in five years. And then this happened. Needless to say, you have to like his odds to return next year.
3. Georgia Is All Concerned About Academics All Of A Sudden. Even more impressive about this run? Georgia lost two of its best players from last year, Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, because they didn't qualify academically, and the team now has only eight scholarship players. They very well might have been the least likely team on earth to have pulled off two wins in one day, and four in four. Our favorite player, just edging doofy tall white guy Dave Bliss (who is far clunkier than a man with the name "Bliss" should be), is leader Sundiata Gaines, whose first name means "African warrior." We'll be honest: With the Illini finally petering out in the Big Ten final, we're cheering for Georgia to win this whole thing. If they play all six games in one day, they have to be the favorite. — Will Leitch
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