University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Discuss NCAA Tournament Bid
March 15, 2026 | Men's Basketball
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia head coach Mike White and Bulldog guards Blue Cain and Marcus "Smurf" Millender discussed the Bulldogs' upcoming appearance in the NCAA Tournament following the "March "Madness" Selection show on Sunday.
Georgia is the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional and will play No. 9 Saint Louis on Thursday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The game will tip at approximately 9:45 p.m. ET and air on CBS. Georgia is 2-0 all-time against Saint Louis, winning both ends of a home-and-home series contested during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
Georgia earned an at-large bid to the tournament for the second consecutive year, just the fourth time the Bulldogs have secured back-to-back NCAA appearances in program history.
Below are selected quotes from Coach White, Cain and Millender.
Head Coach Mike White
Opening Statement:
"Excited to still be playing. Excited to represent University of Georgia in the NCAA Tournament. Continue to love coaching these guys. We're playing a dangerous team, and we're pretty dangerous ourselves. We had a great regular season and had a great fight the other day, after a really slow start in the SEC Tournament. We're just honored to have another chance to see where this thing takes us. Excited for these guys to be able to compete again together."
On Saint Louis and the tournament field:
"Honestly, I haven't had a chance to study it. I haven't seen Saint Louis play this year. I do know the background of Coach [Josh] Schertz, and I know their offensive numbers. Usually are pretty impressive, right? For a team to win that many games, defensively, I'm sure they present problems too, so I'm just excited to get upstairs as soon as we're done talking here and get to learn Saint Louis as much as possible here in a short period of time."
On the confidence he has in his team:
"We're a good team, and I'm sure our opponent feels the same way. We've beaten a lot of good teams, and we've almost beaten some others. We're sitting here with a bunch of quad ones and quad twos, and again, just coming off a performance where you wish we had a little bit more momentum going in. That said, the fight in the last 30 minutes of the game the other day was really, really impressive. There's not many teams in the country that can find themselves down 23 points in a conference tournament and make it a one possession game and have a chance down the stretch. This team's very resilient. We've got good players. I think we've got underrated guys. I hate to say that in the portal era, but it's true. I believe in these guys. We're talented, we're skilled. We've got some toughness, and this team has gotten better throughout the year, so hopefully we can continue to show that."
No. 0 Blue Cain | Jr.. | Guard
On how his experience in the NCAA tournament last year will help the team this year:
"I think last year was a tough loss. It happened really fast. I think just not really taking it for granted, just really being locked in. Knowing that it is a cool experience, but we have to be ready to play from the tip. Just make sure we're locked in. Enjoy the experience but also being really ready to compete and perform."
No. 4 Marcus "Smurf" Millender | Jr. | G
On playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time:
"It's a real moment. As a kid, I always wanted to play in NCAA tournaments and be on the biggest stage possible in college basketball. This is a real moment."
Georgia is the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional and will play No. 9 Saint Louis on Thursday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The game will tip at approximately 9:45 p.m. ET and air on CBS. Georgia is 2-0 all-time against Saint Louis, winning both ends of a home-and-home series contested during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
Georgia earned an at-large bid to the tournament for the second consecutive year, just the fourth time the Bulldogs have secured back-to-back NCAA appearances in program history.
Below are selected quotes from Coach White, Cain and Millender.
Head Coach Mike White
Opening Statement:
"Excited to still be playing. Excited to represent University of Georgia in the NCAA Tournament. Continue to love coaching these guys. We're playing a dangerous team, and we're pretty dangerous ourselves. We had a great regular season and had a great fight the other day, after a really slow start in the SEC Tournament. We're just honored to have another chance to see where this thing takes us. Excited for these guys to be able to compete again together."
On Saint Louis and the tournament field:
"Honestly, I haven't had a chance to study it. I haven't seen Saint Louis play this year. I do know the background of Coach [Josh] Schertz, and I know their offensive numbers. Usually are pretty impressive, right? For a team to win that many games, defensively, I'm sure they present problems too, so I'm just excited to get upstairs as soon as we're done talking here and get to learn Saint Louis as much as possible here in a short period of time."
On the confidence he has in his team:
"We're a good team, and I'm sure our opponent feels the same way. We've beaten a lot of good teams, and we've almost beaten some others. We're sitting here with a bunch of quad ones and quad twos, and again, just coming off a performance where you wish we had a little bit more momentum going in. That said, the fight in the last 30 minutes of the game the other day was really, really impressive. There's not many teams in the country that can find themselves down 23 points in a conference tournament and make it a one possession game and have a chance down the stretch. This team's very resilient. We've got good players. I think we've got underrated guys. I hate to say that in the portal era, but it's true. I believe in these guys. We're talented, we're skilled. We've got some toughness, and this team has gotten better throughout the year, so hopefully we can continue to show that."
No. 0 Blue Cain | Jr.. | Guard
On how his experience in the NCAA tournament last year will help the team this year:
"I think last year was a tough loss. It happened really fast. I think just not really taking it for granted, just really being locked in. Knowing that it is a cool experience, but we have to be ready to play from the tip. Just make sure we're locked in. Enjoy the experience but also being really ready to compete and perform."
No. 4 Marcus "Smurf" Millender | Jr. | G
On playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time:
"It's a real moment. As a kid, I always wanted to play in NCAA tournaments and be on the biggest stage possible in college basketball. This is a real moment."
Georgia Men's Basketball -Millender, Cain, and Coach White Pre NCAA Tournament
Sunday, March 15
Georgia Men's Basketball - SEC Tournament Post Game Press Conference vs Ole Miss
Friday, March 13
Georgia Men's Basketball - Somto Cyril Pre SEC Tournament Media Availability
Wednesday, March 11
Georgia Men's Basketball - Jeremiah Wilkinson Pre SEC Tournament Media Availability
Wednesday, March 11