South Carolina: post mortem

I can handle losing.  I am a UGA basketball fan, after all.

What I can't handle is seeing another team outwork my team, especially in our home gym.  South Carolina has absolutely nothing to play for, and they wanted that game more.  It is totally unacceptable.  Apparently at some point we decided we can just show up and win against bad teams.  Turns out that's far from true.

I don't want to hear about injuries; yes, Georgia has had a run of bad luck.  I don't want to hear about how hot South Carolina was; yes, they were red hot in the first half.  I don't want to hear about how bad the refs were; yes, they were awful.

In spite of all of that, if Georgia had showed up at the opening tip, the game would not have been close.

Instead, Georgia now accounts for half of South Carolina's SEC wins, and any tournament talk borders on ludicrous a week after the Bulldogs were seemingly a lock to get in:

• Another nice game for Cameron Forte, but did I really see him take a 3?  Never again, Cam.
• Charles Mann acquitted himself well, too, I thought.  Or maybe that was just in comparison with the rest of the team.  Seriously, though, he's just not a 3-point shooter, and he needs to accept that.  Finish the season, then hit the gym every day during the offseason and become a 3-point shooter.
• The disappearance of Kenny Gaines is beyond frustrating right now.  He came out aggressive and got to the basket three times in the first 10 minutes or so, then he faded away.  He works really hard on defense, and maybe that's affecting his offensive output.  I just don't know.
• You know who worked really hard on offense last night for Georgia?  No one.  Lots of standing around.  Apparently Frazier needs to be at the controls at this point.
• 10 shots combined for Thornton and Maten is not enough.  South Carolina is not that strong inside, so that's where Georgia's bread should have been buttered last night.  Instead, they combined for a meager 12 points on only 2 field goals.
• Maybe it's time to start finding some more shots for Taylor Echols.  He's shooting a solid 40% from behind the 3-point line this season.
• 9 missed free throws in a 6 point loss.  South Carolina only missed 1.  It's coachable, folks, it really is.
• Nice to see Kenny Paul Geno back out there.  I was going to harp on his lack of productivity until I saw his line.  6 rebounds (3 offensive) and a steal in 12 minutes.  Effort goes a long way.

I could go on, but my heart's not in it today.  What we're seeing is a pretty epic meltdown out of this team.  Alabama can now be considered a must-win game.  Three wins (not counting the SEC tournament) probably still gets Georgia into the tournament, but it's hard to imagine Georgia winning at Ole Miss or at home versus Kentucky.  That means at Alabama, home against Missouri, and at Auburn will have to do it.

That suddenly seems unlikely, doesn't it?  I've harped on the resilience of this team all year long.  We're about to find out if I was just blowing smoke.