Can UGA Basketball Take Next Step Forward in Huge Road Clash vs. UNC Tar Heels?

The Georgia Bulldogs basketball team is on the road to face off with a blue blood Friday evening. The Dawgs will take on the UNC Tar Heels in “The Dean Dome” in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

It begs a few questions, and we will try to sift through them.

Is UGA ready to take the next step? Can this game spring momentum into another year of improvement? Is UNC really that good this year under former NBA coach Michael Malone? Can Mike White get it done in big games?

Georgia is coming off of back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. White took the Dawgs to the dance after a 10-year layoff and then did it again, providing consecutive appearances in the tournament for the first time since the late 90s.

The Southeastern Conference has risen in basketball and so has Georgia. Now, the primary question lies whether or not the Dawgs are prepared to take the next step. Georgia has improved on each of its four seasons under White, but the two tournament appearances were met with first round exits.

The general consensus is that North Carolina is a rebuilding program after firing Hubert Davis for reaching the same distance the Dawgs did the past two seasons. The difference is that expectations are to compete for a national title on a yearly basis in Chapel Hill.

Expectations are not that high in Athens, but improvement is something that fans and people within the program are reaching for. Winning in the Dean Dome would be the first step toward that.

It wouldn’t be White’s first big win leading Georgia. The Dawgs beat ranked Arkansas and Alabama last year. They beat Xazier in a neutral site.

The year prior, Georgia beat a ranked St. Johns team in a neutral site along with then No. 6 Kentucky and No. 3 Florida at home.

Now, cxan Georgia do it on the road in one of college basketball’s best environments?

Both teams are off to a 3-0 start, and both have started off a little slow. Georgia has more continuity and momentum heading into this.

The top four scorers for Georgia right now are all in double digit and were all either starters or key pieces to the roster last season. Senior Blue Cain is leading the way with 16 points per game. Georgia has a bevy of guards it can throw at you to get behind the defense.

That is what Georgia has going for it. What it is struggling with is efficiency and rebounding. Georgia is shooting just over 30% from deep, 67% from the charity stripe and 46% overall.

North Carolina has been a tad bit more efficient and has bigger bodies in its lineup overall. The Tar Heels have six players shooting at least 36% from deep over the course of three games, and that includes their frontcourt players.

Georgia has a particular style of play. The Dawgs want to get out and run and get shots up. So far, the eye test says that they can struggle to defend at times and keep people from getting to the basket. North Carolina may be rebuilding/retooling, but there are still high quality players on the Tar Heels’ roster.

The Dawgs are still figuring out life after Somto Cyril and Jeremiah Wilkinson. They were key pieces to the success of last season. Wilkinson could light up the scoreboard and Cyril was one of the better rim protectors in the country.

White has opted back to a smaller lineup, guard-heavy lineup.

Georgia usually gets tripped up on the road. All of Georgia’s big wins under White have been at home or on a neutral court. Now, he carries an older roster with a ton of experience and now tournament experience. The Dawgs play at some of the toughest schools in the SEC.

Winning at UNC would be a springboard for the season. It would give Georgia confidence that it can win in tough environments.

At the end of the day, they have to shoot well. This is a team that doesn’t have the defensive skeleton it did a year ago, and even then, the defense wasn’t great.

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