Georgia basketball: Mark Fox looks forward to tough non-conference schedule

Basketball season is just around the corner, and Georgia Bulldogs coach Mark Fox provided some insight into what he expects from UGA basketball in 2012-2013.

One of the early highlights of the upcoming season is the Bulldogs' trip to Brooklyn for the 2012 Legends Classic. Georgia will face Indiana on Nov. 19, and take on either UCLA or Georgetown on Nov. 20. Following that, the team takes on Georgia Tech in the SEC/Big East challenge, and December includes a home game against Southern Cal. Fox indicated that he welcomes the challenges. Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"The goal in non-conference scheduling is to create a schedule that will give you a great strength-of-schedule for your postseason resume. You don't sharpen your teeth eating bread pudding. . . . And this is a league I think you'll see at least seven teams in the [NCAA] tournament, maybe eight. We've got two more hard, tough, conference games to play."

The Bulldogs will need that practice if they want to improve on the last few years of NCAA Tournament play. The Bulldogs have qualified for the tournament only twice since 2008, losing in the first round to Xavier in 2008 and Washington in 2011. Expectations are higher for the 2013 tournament, especially in light of the return of freshman All-SEC Team member Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.