ATHENS — Georgia basketball is headed to the SEC Basketball Tournament with a convenient mentality.

“It’s a new season,” Coach Mike White said on Tuesday night. “It’s a clean slate.”

The Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) head to Nashville as the tourney’s No. 11 seed and play No. 14-seed Missouri (6-24, 0-18) in a first-round game (TV: 9:20 p.m., SEC Network).

Georgia’s first goal in Nashville is to take the next step as a program and win a game at the SEC tournament for what would be the first time since 2020.

NBA No. 1 pick Anthony “Antman” Edwards was part of that UGA team that beat Ole Miss 81-63 the year the Covid pandemic led to the cancellation of the winter sports postseasons.

This Georgia team beat the Missouri team it will face tonight in both teams’ SEC opener, 75-68.

The Bulldogs would play No. 6-seed Florida at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday if they can get past the Tigers on Wednesday night.

“We’re zero and zero, it’s a new season,” said Georgia guard Noah Thomasson, who leads the team with 12.8 points per game.

“It’s like a relief, a chance to make a run. We win a couple of games, and it puts us in a whole different situation.”

The Bulldogs won 10 straight games at one point this season, knocking off three ACC teams before getting off to a 4-2 start in SEC play.

Georgia has dropped 10 of 12 games since then, struggling to close out games.

White, in his second season, knows how different things could be.

“Our overall record isn’t pretty, it’s not what we wanted, but we are significantly better,” White said.

“We’ve had chances, and we’ve been close in a few games where if you hold on to those leads, we’re potentially sitting here as a bubble team.”

Georgia, instead, is hoping a late-season SEC tourney run could earn them an outside chance to make their first postseason since 2017, when it played in the NIT tournament.

“We’re playing with a certain level of confidence,” White said. “We have to turn the page, it’s a new season, it’ a clean slate, fresh start for us and Missouri.”