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What are the odds of UGA, Georgia State meeting in The Caymans hoops tourney?

The Dawgs and Panthers traveled roughly 1,015 miles ... for the potential opportunity of squaring off for the first time in 13 years.
Credit: Michael Comer

Let's start this piece with an unusual admission:

11Alive Sports is openly cheering for the Georgia State and UGA basketball teams to square off in this week's Cayman Islands Classic (Monday-Wednesday).

Why is that?

Such an occurrence would satisfy three objectives:

1) The need for Georgia and Georgia State to meet for the first time in 13 years. (On Dec. 10, 2005, the Dawgs knocked off the Panthers in nearby Duluth, 72-61.)

2) The need for the 11Alive archives room to possess more footage of the schools sharing the same court.

3) The need to gather more information on one pressing question: 

What's the best program inside state lines–UGA, Georgia Tech, Mercer, Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern or Georgia State ... the only in-state program to reach last season's NCAA tournament?

THE MONDAY MATCHUPS

First up for UGA: Illinois State. 

Last season, ISU went 18-15 overall and advanced to the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The Redbirds boast six key returnees from a year ago, including their top scorers.

"Illinois State will be a formidable foe for us in the Cayman Islands Classic," Crean said during the summer.

"(ISU) has a veteran team returning and Coach Dan Muller does a tremendous job of getting his players prepared. Facing Illinois State will be a good early season challenge for us. These types of tournaments test you both physically and mentally, and they help prepare you for the rest of your season. We're excited about the challenge and the opportunity."

First up for Georgia State: St. Bonaventure. 

The Bonnies were one of the kingpins of the Atlantic 10 Conference last season (26-8 overall), before falling to Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

THE ODDS OF A WEDNESDAY ENCOUNTER?

UGA and Georgia State are on opposite sides of The Caymans bracket.

For Monday, the afternoon session includes Akron vs. Clemson (12 noon tip EST) and then UGA-Illinois State at approximately 2:30 p.m.

For the evening session, the bottom half of the bracket involves Georgia State-St. Bonaventure (approximate tip time: 5 p.m.), followed by Creighton vs. Boise State.

The Monday winners and losers for each sub-bracket will lock horns on Tuesday.

On Wednesday night, the nationally televised championship game pairs the two sub-bracket champs. The matchups for the 3rd-4th place, 5th-6th place and 7th-8th place will commence earlier Wednesday.

As such, there's just one scenario in which UGA and Georgia State could occupy the same court in The Caymans: 

The schools must mirror the other's performance on Monday–either win/win or lose/lose, makes no difference. 

Otherwise, there would be zero chance of a Wednesday showdown.

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