Auburn: post mortem

How much did that game mean to Georgia?  Probably not much from an NCAA Tournament standpoint.  But to a delicate fanbase and a team facing yet another injury, that win was just what the doctor ordered.

Now here we sit, with 20 wins for the second straight season, a double-bye for a second straight season, and a feeling that the season, while fun, isn't quite over yet.  These are strange times indeed:

• How much is Georgia going to miss Nemi Djurisic next year?  With almost all of their scoring injured or in foul trouble, he carried the Bulldogs on his back in the first half.  It's at least the second time this year that Georgia led at the half even though it felt like they were behind by 10.
• Not only did Georgia dominate the glass, they also held Cinmeon Bowers to a mere 5 rebounds.  His production has certainly slowed down the last few weeks, but that's the kind of board work that's going to be required from here on out to survive and advance.
• 19/21 from the free throw line.  9/9 for Charles Mann.  That's going to win some basketball games.
• Seriously, Charles Mann was fantastic.  Much has been said about his selflessness this season, and it's all true, but Georgia needed him on offense Saturday and he delivered.  Auburn really had no answer for him in the paint.
• Marcus Thornton is shooting over 80% from the free throw line over the last 10 games in which he has played.
• Great to see Juwan Parker out there playing meaningful minutes.  There is obviously rust, but it's easy to see how good he can be if he gets another full summer under his belt and returns to health.  Just a little more lift on that jumper is going to make his a legitimate scoring threat.
• More than a few times lately, Taylor Echols has committed some bad turnovers (the Tennessee game comes to mind).  He needs to clean that up come tournament time.
• How good is KT Harrell?  It looked like he was going to will the Tigers to a win, and I was prepared to tip my cap to him for doing so.  I don't know what Auburn's record would look like without him, but it wouldn't be pretty.
• I have to applaud the Auburn fans.  They put butts in the seats to watch a bad team lose a lot of games.  That's what an exciting coaching hire does for you.  If there's little to no improvement next year?  That shine will start coming off in a hurry.

So Georgia has at least two games left.  If you had asked me how I'd feel in this situation before the season, I would have said satisfied.  But now here we are, and I want more.  This team is capable of playing on Sunday in the SEC Tournament and Saturday/Sunday in the NCAA Tournament.  This should be fun.