Georgia Bulldogs Completely Surpassed National Media's Preseason Projections

Georgia's basketball team completely surpassed the national media's preseason projections.

The Georgia Bulldogs are officially going dancing for the season season in a row. It is the first time since the 2001-2002 season that Georgia has made the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons. They come in to this year's tournament as an eight seed and will play Saint Louis in the first round.

Not only did Georgia make the tournament again, but they also won 22 games in the regular season, the most in program history. Needless to say, it has been a pretty successful season for head coach Mike White and his team in his fourth season with the program.

Some might say this was expected for the Bulldogs, but according to preseason projections from the national media, the Hoop Dawgs weren't supposed to be even close to making the NCAA tournament this year. Here is a look at what some outlets projected this season to look like for Georgia.

Georgia Went from Preseason Let Down to Making March Madness

Mar 3, 2026; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Blue Cain (0) dribbles against Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (5) loses the ball to Alabama Crimson Tide forward Aiden Sherrell (22) at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

CBS Sports projected Georgia to finish 14th in the SEC this year. Instead, the Bulldogs came into the conference tournament as a seven seed and were 10-8 in conference play. Isaac Trotter even projected the Bulldogs to finish dead last in the conference.

CBS wasn't the only outlet that had low expectations for Georgia coming into this season. According to the SEC media preseason projections, they too had the Bulldogs projected to finish 14th in the conference.

SEC Preseason Poll, per release.

1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Missouri
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas
10. Mississippi State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Oklahoma
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. LSU
16. South Carolina
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 13, 2025

The Athletic wasn't very high on the Bulldogs coming into this season either. CJ Moore had the Bulldogs projected to finish 15th in the conference. Here were some of his preseason thoughts on the Bulldogs.

"Georgia took one of the biggest roster hits in the back half of the league, losing both [Asa] Newell (to the NBA) and [Silas] Demary (to UConn)," Moore wrote. "This roster is not as strong as the one that won eight games in the SEC last year."

Coach White managed to help replace the losses of Newell and Demary Jr. by bringing in the likes of Kanon Catchings, Jeremiah Wilkinson, Jordan Ross, Justin Bailey and Smurf Millender. Jake Wilkins and Kareem Stagg have also been factors as true freshmen this season. The returns of Somto Cyril, Blue Cain, Justin Abson and Dylan James also boosted Georgia this year.

Regardless of what this season ultimately leads to for the Bulldogs, they certainly surpassed any expectations outsiders had for the Bulldogs this season. Perhaps now that the Bulldogs have made back-to-back tournaments, preseason expectations will look a little different for Georgia next season.