ATHENS A trio of home dates against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams headlines the Georgia's 2018-19 non-conference schedule, which was released Tuesday. All told, 10 of Georgia's 17 home games during head coach Tom Crean's initial season in Athens will be against teams that earned postseason bids last spring.

"A lot got done in a relatively short period of time, and I appreciate the hard work of everyone involved, led by John Bateman (Assistant AD for Marketing), in finalizing our schedule," Crean said. "I think we've built a very challenging non-conference schedule that will help prepare us for SEC play."

NCAA Tournament participants Arizona State, Texas and Texas Southern all will visit Stegeman Coliseum during the 2017-18 campaign. Georgia will face two more postseason participants, Sam Houston State and Temple and at least one more at the Cayman Islands Classic during non-conference action.

The Tom Crean era will officially begin on Friday, Nov. 9 when the Bulldogs host Savannah State, which tied for the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title. Georgia will trek to Temple, which participated in the NIT, and host Sam Houston State, which reached the CIT semifinals, before venturing to the Cayman Islands Classic.

Georgia opens play on Grand Cayman against Illinois State on Monday, Nov. 19. The Bulldogs will face either Clemson, an NCAA "Sweet 16" team last season, or Akron the following day. The other half of the Caymans bracket features three NCAA Tournament teams Creighton, Georgia State and St. Bonaventure as well as Boise State, which played in the NIT.

The Bulldogs will open a four-game homestand against Kennesaw State on Tuesday, Nov. 27, followed by matchups against Texas Southern, Arizona State and Oakland over the next three weeks. Georgia will face Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 22, before wrapping up the pre-SEC schedule by hosting Massachusetts on Sunday, Dec. 30.

In the heart of league play, Georgia will host Texas on Saturday, Jan. 26, at Stegeman Coliseum as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The non-conference schedule also finalizes the teams the Bulldogs will host in Athens this season. In SEC play, Georgia will entertain four 2018 NCAA Tournament teams (Auburn, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri), two NIT participants (LSU and Mississippi State), Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to play an exhibition game against West Georgia on Thursday, Nov. 1.


Still waiting on the SEC...

Thursday Nov 1 - West Georgia

Friday Nov 9 - Savannah State

Tuesday Nov 13 - at Temple

Friday Nov 16 - Sam Houston State

Monday Nov 19 - Illinois State
Tuesday Nov 20 - Clemson/Akron
Wed Nov 21 - Caymon Championship Game

Tuesday Nov. 27 - Kennesaw State

Monday Dec 3 - Texas Southern

Saturday Dec 15 - Arizona State

Tuesday Dec 18 - Oakland

Saturday Dec 22 - at Georgia Tech

Sunday Dec 30 - UMass

Saturday Jan 26 - Texas (Big 12/SEC Challenge)