WICHITA, KA — The Georgia Bulldogs are out of March Madness after a decisive first-round loss to Gonzaga in Kansas. This marked Georgia’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade, but their return was short-lived. Gonzaga, a No. 8 seed, defeated the No. 9 Bulldogs 89-68.

It’s a disappointing finish to what had been a promising season for Georgia, which ends the year with a 20-13 record.

Head coach Mike White spoke candidly after the game. “I didn’t see that coming, didn’t anticipate that outcome,” White said. “Obviously, especially the first 10 minutes of the game. Gonzaga’s really good—perhaps under-seeded.”

The loss comes amid a wild start to the tournament. McNeese State upset Clemson, and Drake knocked out Missouri in other early surprises. The upsets have wreaked havoc on bracket predictions.

Out of more than 34 million brackets submitted online, fewer than 40,000 remain perfect which is less than 1 percent. Still, that’s the highest number of perfect brackets after the first day since 2019.