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What Georgia basketball said after blowout NCAA Tournament loss
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- What Georgia basketball said after blowout NCAA Tournament loss
The Georgia Bulldogs ended their 2025-2026 college basketball season on a sour note with a 102-77 loss to the Saint Louis Billikens in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. Saint Louis dominated Georgia on the glass and in the paint. The Billikens played much better defense than Georgia and play Michigan on Saturday for a chance to make the Sweet Sixteen.
"I did not see that coming," Georgia basketball coach Mike White said after the shocking loss. "I expected to win the game. These guys have practiced really hard all week, been locked in and in our preparation.
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"We played as disconnected as we've played all season. Really proud of our regular season. We broke records. We did things that have never happened, obviously, in the history of Georgia basketball. But our plan was to come here and play well and compete and advance. Just a tough way to end it."
Georgia basketball crumbled early in a blowout loss in March Madness to Gonzaga last year, so a lot of fans and experts assumed the Bulldogs would be more prepared this time. However, it did not translate on the court. Saint Louis built a massive first half lead as Georgia failed to build up much momentum at any point during the game.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mike White looks on against the Saint Louis Billikens during the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament
(Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images)
"We didn't play hard at all," Georgia basketball guard Jeremiah Wilkinson said after the game. Wilkinson was one of Georgia's only bright spots. He scored 30 points in the defeat, but it was not enough. He echos that Georgia has no excuse.
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"Turnovers... we're not getting back. And, you know, I'm guilty of it a couple of times too, but as a team, they got out and ran on us. And we couldn't get rebounds, and they went and got rebounds. We were the bigger team today, so we have no excuse for that. We were probably the more athletic team, so there's no excuse for what happened today."
Georgia is forced to try to recover as a program almost immediately. The Bulldogs have to make numerous roster decisions with the transfer portal opening up soon.
Saint Louis deserves some credit
Robbie Avila #21 of the Saint Louis Billikens takes a shot on the basket during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
(Ishika Samant, Getty Images)
"I thought Saint Louis was terrific," White said after the game. "Obviously we knew they were really good on film, but in person, the way that they executed it, and their tempo and their flow offensively and their offensive connection, the way they shared it, the way they spaced it, their split-second passing decisions 1 through 5 to one another. You didn't know who was going to get the shot. They just took their shot."
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Saint Louis is 29-5 for a reason. The Billikens have an explosive offense and on of the top scoring percentage defenses in the nation.
UGA played with less effort
"I can't dodge that," White said. "We played with less effort than we played any game this season. And it's not even close, not even close."
Future implications following the loss
"It'll be a factor," White said. "We already addressed it in the locker room with our guys, that's not our standard, that's not what we're trying to build. It's not acceptable, the effort, it's just, we're in the NCAA Tournament."
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: What Georgia basketball said after disappointing March Madness loss
