Luckily for Georgia, they were a four seed and got to move directly past go, to the second round. Terry Fair also scored 14 a night, and Fair hit the boards to the tune of seven rebounds per game. So, in that spirit I thought I’d hop inside the DeLorean in my mind and travel back to 1983, the one and only year the Georgia Bulldog basketball team made it to the Final Four. They shot 85 percent in the second half of the tournament final against Alabama. Georgia basketball is no doubt used to being forgotten, being in the shadow of the football team. 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings, "ST JOHN'S OUSTED, 70-67; HOUSTON AND VILLANOVA GAIN", "Houston, North Carolina State Win and Gain N.C.A.A. Former Georgia basketball player Lamar Heard, who served as one of the captains of the Bulldogs' 1983 Final Four team, died Thursday evening. What the 1983 Georgia basketball team did was truly amazing. If you happen to be a Georgia basketball fan and are jonesing for a fix, the ‘83 team is a great to start. Even today, SEC basketball is not guaranteed to go four-deep and in the world of 1983, only 48 teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Georgia survived a tough 56-54 game with #5 seed Virginia Commonwealth, and advanced to the regionals. Problems started in SEC play though, and Georgia lost its first two league games and then a four-game skid in February put their NCAA Tournament hopes in serious jeopardy. The 1982–83 Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1982–83 NCAA men's basketball season.The team was led by head coach Hugh Durham, and played their home games at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.The Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament, and continued their winning ways in the East Region … Terry Fair also scored 14 a night, and Fair hit the boards to the tune of seven rebounds per game. He scored 20 points, with Fleming and Gerald Crosby each kicking in 17 apiece and the Bulldogs beat Carolina 82-77 in a game not as close as the final score makes it sounds. They defeated #1 seed St. John's and #2 seed North Carolina to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history. TheSportsNotebook has individual articles on the most consequential teams from that time period, from their key players to their season-defining moments. Fleming averaged 17 ppg, and was joined by James Banks (14 ppg). Even though the dream died against N.C. State at the Final Four in Albuquerque, these Dawgs deserve their day. “I’m as excited as I was when we went to the Final Four, and I’m not being facetious about that.” The 1982–83 Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1982–83 NCAA men's basketball season. Why Miami Marlins Should Be World Series Favorites, Why Freddie Freeman Is National League MVP, Georgia Bulldogs 1983 NCAA Tournament Run. St. John’s was the Big East champ and #1 seed, led by sharpshooting guard Chris Mullin. The other thing that stands out, and this has to do with the regular season as opposed to the tournament, was how balanced the SEC was that year. The 1983 NCAA Tournament is remembered for the miracle championship ride of Jim Valvano and the North Carolina State Wolfpack, who needed to win their conference tournament just to make it to March Madness and then pulled off two memorable upsets (Virginia and Houston) to win the national title. After squeaking by fifth seeded VCU, they defeated one-seeded (#3 overall) St Johns, and a second seeded (# 8 overall) North Carolina team, whose roster was made up of players like Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and Brad Dougherty, before losing to NC State in the Final Four. With sports on an indefinite hiatus, it doesn’t mean we can’t go back and watch highlights of the teams we enjoyed watching while we grew up, or in some cases, before we became sports fans. Syracuse and the Carrier Dome was the host for the 1983 NCAA Tournament’s East Regional. What’s forgotten is that there was another team at the Final Four that year on a similar ride and it was the 1983 Georgia basketball team. The Bulldogs made it to the Final Four in 1983 but lost to eventual champion NC State. As of 2020 the Bulldogs have amassed a record of 1,434–1,319. I’m beyond ecstatic,” said Banks, star of Georgia’s 1983 Final Four basketball team. Just for the fun of it, this year’s SEC consisted of fourteen teams, ten different conference records ranging from 5-13 to 13-5 and four teams that finished either at or below .500 for the season. Of the ten teams that made up the SEC, only Kentucky (13-5) and Florida (5-13) didn’t finish somewhere between 8-10 and 10-8.