No. 1 Auburn Tigers vs. No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs: Preview, How to Watch

Despite star Johni Broome's injury and the nebulous timetable surrounding it, the Auburn Tigers keep rolling along. After dispatching Mississippi State, Auburn takes the road trip to Athens, Ga. to face the dangerous Georgia Bulldogs (14-3). Quietly, UGA continues to compile wins and improve their NCAA tournament aspirations.

SEC Network will broadcast the game at Noon CT.

Most importantly, Georgia does not back down or fear any team, top-ranked or not. It is with that, the Auburn Tigers stand in a precarious spot: facing a hungry team that looks to make its bones, so to speak, on Auburn.

Grind it Out

While grit feels like a term that people overuse, that defines Georgia as a team. The Bulldogs will fight, scratch and claw on both ends of the court. They don't shoot threes particularly well (.329), so they live in the paint and close to the cup.

In all honesty, the Dawgs don't truly attempt shots that are too far outside of their comfort zone. In fact, they will look to attack the Auburn frontcourt, especially with the absence of Broome. As a rim protector, Broome not only erases shot but he alters the path of others, which leads to the Tigers snaring the rebounds and turning defense into instant offense.

Now, UGA will push the pace and make Auburn contest every close shot. One the defensive end, five Bulldogs average one steal per game, which means the passing lanes will see a hand tipping the ball away.

Three Man Weave

From a scoring aspect, three players hold down the metaphorical fort. Freshman forward Asa Newell paces the team with 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. While not quite a stretch-four, in regards to extending out and making perimeter shots, Newell's length and angular build lends itself to working on the jumper and becoming a well-rounded player, looking to dominate.

Fun display of Asa Newell's offensive versatility tonight as he did a bit of everything from offensive rebounding, DHO keepers, attacking close outs, and knocking down a couple 3s off the catch. pic.twitter.com/Ye1dWnPSsB
— Tyler Metcalf (@tmetcalf11) January 8, 2025

Through seventeen games, senior point guard Dakota Leffew does not start. Yet, as a bench player, he provides instant offense, 12.1 points in just 24.9 minutes and is the team's best shooter three (.382).

Rounding out the trio, starting point guard, Silas Demary. While not the scorer that Leffew is, Demary gets to the tin with speed and efficiency.

The Freshman is cleared for takeoff! #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/R9C2WXUm85
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) January 13, 2024

Bottom Line

Auburn cannot look at the Johni Broome’s injury as an excuse, or a stumbling block. Instead, they need to put the pedal down. Georgia’s brand of scrappy play and intensity could challenge the Tigers. Plus, the inevitable looking ahead traps elite teams from time to time.

Now, Auburn must continue to find a way while Broome recuperates.

#1/1 Auburn Tigers (16-1, 4-0 SEC) vs. #23/23 Georgia Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2 SEC)

January 18, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. (CT) / 1:00 p.m. (ET)

Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.

Television: SEC Network

Play-By-Play: John Schriffen

Color Analyst: Daymeon Fishback

Radio: Auburn Sports Network

Play-By-Play: Andy Burcham

Color Analyst: Randall Dickey

» No. 1 Auburn (16-1, 4-0 SEC) travels to Athens for its third road game in the last four contests to take on No. 23 Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC) in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

» The Deep South’s oldest rivalry, Auburn and Georgia are meeting for the 200th time on the hardwood with the Tigers holding a 102-97 advantage. Auburn has won 11 of the last 14 overall in the series including the last three. The Tigers are 5-2 in their last seven trips to Athens.

» For the second time in program history (both under head coach Bruce Pearl), the Tigers are the No. 1 team the country in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Pearl is the only coach (football or men’s basketball) in SEC history to lead two programs to a No. 1 national ranking in the AP Poll (Tennessee in 2008 and Auburn in 2022 & 2024).

» Auburn is 6-1 when ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll (beat Missouri and Georgia on the road and defeated Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas A&M at home during that stretch).

» AU and Tennessee are tied for best record in the country at 16-1 overall.

» The Tigers should have a large number of “Road Witnesses” as Coach Pearl affectionately calls Auburn fans on hand in Athens.

» Auburn leads the country with 9 Quad 1 wins (Oregon the closest with 8).

» The Tigers boast the SEC’s longest and nation’s third-longest active win streak (tied with Michigan State at nine games) behind Iowa State and Duke (11 games).

» With a road win at Georgia this weekend, Auburn could match the 2018-19 Tigers’ school record with their sixth win of the season over a ranked opponent.

» Auburn, Ole Miss and Alabama are the only teams in the SEC to go 2-0 on the road thus far in conference play.

SCOUTING GEORGIA

» No. 23 Georgia is ranked for the first time since Jan. 10, 2011. The Bulldogs are 11-0 at home this season including an 82-69 win vs. No. 6 Kentucky.

» UGA is playing its fifth-straight ranked opponent to open SEC play. The Bulldogs lost 63-51 at No. 24 Ole Miss, beat No. 6 Kentucky 82-69 and No. 17 Oklahoma 72-62 at home and lost 74-56 at No. 6 Tennessee.

» Georgia is led by projected NBA lottery pick in freshman forward Asa Newell, who is averaging 15.3 points per game on 57.8 percent shooting and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game and an SEC-leading 3.59 offensive boards.

» UGA currently ranks in the Top 35 in scoring defense nationally (64.8). The Bulldogs are also ninth in blocks per game (5.6) and 17th in rebounding margin (+8.4). They have outrebounded 14-of-17 opponents.

SERIES HISTORY

» Auburn leads 102-97 in the all-time series with Georgia. The Tigers own a three-game win streak and have won five of the last six meetings between the two schools. UGA is 30-17 in games played at Stegeman Coliseum.

» This is the second meeting between the two schools when Auburn has been ranked No. 1 in the series. The Tigers narrowly escaped with a 74-72 road win as Wendell Green Jr. hit a game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds remaining on Feb. 5, 2022 in Athens.

» Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is 23-10 lifetime versus Georgia in his career (17 years total in the SEC – 6 at Tennessee and 11 at Auburn), while UGA head coach Mike White is 7-6.

» This is just the second time in the 200-game series history that Auburn and Georgia have met when both teams were ranked in the AP Top 25. No. 19 Georgia beat 24th-ranked Auburn 85-79 on Jan. 25, 2003, in Athens, Ga., in the only previous matchup of ranked teams in the series.

» Ranked Auburn teams are 16-5 against Georgia including 5-5 on the road in Athens. Auburn is 2-1 against ranked Georgia squads including 0-1 in Athens.