Dawgs try to make it like 1983

ATHENS – Derrick Floyd watched Georgia win the SEC Tournament on Sunday, and he felt something familiar.

“Look at them, top of the world right now,” said Floyd as he pointed to the celebrating Bulldogs.

He knows the feeling. Floyd was a member of the only other Georgia team to win the SEC Tournament. That also was the only Bulldog squad to reach the Final Four.

“We blew the (NCAA) Tournament out,” Floyd said. “We were beating teams big. That whole experience just helped us out because everything was do-or-die. We didn’t have any problem knowing it was do-or-die. A lot of teams were living up to a lot of expectations. We didn’t have any expectations to live up to, same as these guys right here.”

The current Georgia team went from worst to first in the SEC in a matter of four days, winning four straight tournament games after winning only four conference games in the regular season.

The way they won those games will be important, Floyd said. Georgia had two overtime victories and had to make plays near the end of the game to seal each victory.

“Think about it, they won one game with (Dave) Bliss on a last second shot, they won another game with a freshman making a spin move and shooting a three,” said Floyd, who now works as Georgia's scoreboard operator at home games. “I mean, they know if the game is close, they have a better chance of winning than the other team and that is going to go a long way.”

Georgia (17-16) will play as the No. 14 seed in the West Regional, facing No. 3 seed Xavier (27-6) in Washington, D.C. If they win that game, they’ll play the winner of the Purdue-Baylor game.

“This thing we’ve got together in the SEC Tournament, I think we can keep it going,” center Albert Jackson said. “We’re going to see how far we can go.”