Season No. 2 for Georgia basketball under Mike White begins Monday in Las Vegas against Oregon.

A revamped roster overhauled through the transfer portal and infusion of freshmen will give the Bulldogs a fresh start.

The odds for Georgia to be a major player in the SEC remains steep — the Bulldogs along with Vanderbilt and South Carolina are +10,000 to win the conference, according to BetMGM.

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More: Where Georgia basketball is picked to finish in SEC this season in year 2 under Mike White

Before the first tipoff, here are our five bold predictions:

Georgia basketball will pull an upset in the nonconference schedule

Georgia will take down a team ranked higher than the Bulldogs in the preseason KenPom rankings in the nonconference.

Look for the Bulldogs to beat either Kansas State or Providence in its second game in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. It could snag another top 100 win at Florida State in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Nov. 29.

Russell Tchewa could grab more rebounds than any Bulldog in two decades

The 7-foot, 280-pound South Florida transfer averaged 8.6 rebounds last season in the AAC and had 10 in the Bulldogs 99-82 exhibition win Monday over Eastern Kentucky. Given the uptempo pace that the Bulldogs plan to play at, there should be more rebounds to grab.

“He takes up space,” White said.

Look at Anthony Evans 8.7 in 1999-2000 and Jumaine Jones 9.5 in 1998-99 as possibilities for Tchewa to reach, but Tchewa is taking a step up in competition.

Tchewa was asked if he had a message for the SEC.

“I’m coming,” he said. “We’re coming.”

Georgia will land a player on the SEC all-freshman team for just the third time in 11 seasons

Point guard Silas Demary Jr. seems like the best bet given his role as a distributor and scorer. The 6-5 Raleigh product had 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in Georgia’s exhibition win.

“Silas is a freshman going on 30,” White said. “He’s just got some maturity, some leadership skills, some poise as a freshman. … Silas has not disappointed up to this point. He's really a good player and a great person. I love working with him every day."

The only other Bulldogs to make the SEC all-freshman team going back to 2014: Anthony Edwards in 2020 and KD Johnson in 20201

Either of these two will lead the team in scoring

Georgia will have a different leading scorer for the eighth straight season, but it’s hard to know for sure who it will be.

Niagara transfer guard Noah Thomasson seems a good candidate after averaging 19.5 points per game last season, but when the lights were on for the first time in the closest thing to a game it was Illinois transfer guard RJ Melendez who had 21 points to go along with nine rebounds.

“He can fill up the stat sheet,” White said, “and I like the level of confidence he played with for a guy who hasn't logged those type of minutes in his college career, good to see him take advantage.”

Melendez averaged 6.0 points a game last season while being bothered by a shoulder injury, but scored in double figures seven times.

“I’m going to be unselfish with the whole game,” Melendez said. “If the game’s flowing my way, I’m still going to involve the team. If the game’s going to someone else’s game and it’s not my game, I’m going to look for him.”

The 6-4 Thomasson isn’t shy to put up shots. He had 20 or more attempts in six games last season.

Georgia basketball will get a postseason bid

Georgia hasn’t reached a postseason tournament since 2017, but that drought will end after the Bulldogs go 19-13 and 9-9 in the SEC and land in the NIT.

The Bulldogs will have wins in eight of the last nine games entering SEC play and snatch victories over Arkansas, Alabama and Florida, but lose five of their final nine conference games.

Georgia will win an NIT game for its first 20-win season since 2015-16.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia basketball five bold predictions: top players, final record