The NIT bids are out, and Georgia was shut out as expected. The 1-7 end to the season after starting 14-8 was just too poor to merit postseason consideration.

As you might guess, the record against NCAA-bound teams isn’t good. The Dawgs played six NCAA Tournament teams and posted a 1-10 record against them:

• Kentucky: 0-2
• Tennessee: 0-2
• Florida: 0-2
• Arkansas: 0-2
• Alabama: 1-0
• LSU: 0-1
• Nevada: 0-1

Georgia played five NIT-bound teams and posted a much better 5-2 mark against them:

• Old Dominion: 0-1
• Vanderbilt: 1-1
• South Carolina: 2-0
• Clemson: 1-0
• Western Kentucky: 1-0

All of those NIT teams, except Western Kentucky, are seeded in the upper half of the NIT bracket. So while Georgia didn’t earn an NIT bid this year, they certainly showed they could play with the better teams in that tournament. I think that would have not been the case a season earlier. Another win – just one more – probably would have put Georgia over the top and earned them an NIT bid. The return to .500 is a nice first step, but a postseason berth – even in the NIT – would have been a really nice achievement to take from this season and build on next year.