GAME NOTES: The third-seeded Georgia Bulldogs begin play in the SEC Tournament, as they take on the 11th-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks in quarterfinal action at Bridgestone Arena on Friday evening.

The winner of this game will take on Tennessee or Arkansas in Saturday's semifinals.

The surprising Georgia Bulldogs picked up the three-seed in this event, earning tiebreakers over LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, who all finished with the same conference record. Georgia closed out the year with wins in three of its last four games, including a crucial road win at Ole Miss to help earn its seeding. Georgia has two tournament titles to its credit, including 2008.

South Carolina didn't have a real strong season in conference play this year (6-12), but the Gamecocks did win two of their last three games during the regular season to climb back to .500 overall. The team carried that momentum into the conference tournament with Wednesday's 63-54 victory over Missouri in the first-round and then a big upset of No. 6 seed Ole Miss in second-round action on Thursday, 60-58.

South Carolina swept the regular-season series with Georgia, with a 67-50 rout in Columbia on Jan. 31 and a 64-58 decision in Athens on Feb. 17.

South Carolina finished up the regular season ranked 10th in the conference in scoring at 65.4 ppg. The team had no real prolific scoring threats to speak of, as leading scorer Duane Notice came in at No. 21 in the SEC in scoring (11.5 ppg). Sindarius Thornwell (11.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Tyrone Johnson (10.1 ppg) provided some scoring depth this year.

Johnson hit three free-throws just before the final buzzer, lifting South Carolina over Ole Miss and into Friday's quarterfinals. Michael Carrera paced the Gamecocks with 16 points in the win, followed by Notice and his 15 points and Sindarius Thornwell's 10. The Gamecocks were able to get the win despite getting outrebounded 44-33 in the game.

The Bulldogs were effective at both ends of the floor this season. The team's strength has been its balanced offensive attack. Georgia averages a decent 68.8 ppg, with five Bulldogs averaging double-digit point totals. Defensively, Georgia is holding foes to just 64.4 ppg on under 40-percent shooting (.388).

Senior forward Marcus Thornton (12.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg) headlines the play for the Bulldogs, leading to a spot on the both the All-SEC Second-Team and All- Defensive Team. Junior guard Kenny Gaines comes in as the second-leading scorer at 11.7 ppg, but an ankle injury has him listed as doubtful for this game. Forward Nemanja Djurisic (11.4 ppg) and guards Charles Mann (11.2 ppg) and J.J. Frazier (10.0 ppg) provide more than enough production to fill the void should Gaines not suit up.

The Gamecocks' confidence is building with each tournament win. South Carolina has already beaten Georgia twice this season, but the rested Bulldogs will get the last laugh.