Preview: Georgia heads to The Plains to face #5 Auburn
Tom Crean's Georgia Bulldogs are looking for their 2nd Top-10 win in one week, which is not an easy task. Georgia (10-4) will be taking on the undefeated Auburn Tigers (14-0), where the Bulldogs are seen as heavy underdogs. Auburn is currently favored by 10.5 points, and the ESPN Basketball Power Index gives Georgia just a 9.7% chance to pull off the upset.
Today's match up features two offenses ranked at the top among the country, which should make for a high-scoring affair. Auburn (82.1 PPG) currently ranks 11th in the nation, while Georgia (80.0 PPG) sits a T-23rd.
Auburn has started off 2-0 in SEC play with wins over Mississippi State and a close win at home over Vanderbilt on Wednesday. For Georgia, they beat #9 Memphis last week, but lost to #14 Kentucky after a few late-game lapses.
Statistical leaders:
Points: Anthony Edwards (UGA) - 18.7 PPG, Samir Doughty (AU)- 15.6 PPG
Rebounds: Rayshaun Hammonds (UGA)- 8.7 RPG, Austin Wiley (AU)- 9.4 RPG
Assists: Sahvir Wheeler (UGA)- 5.1 APG, J'Von McCormick- 5.3 APG
Projected Starting Lineups:
Georgia:
G- (Grad.) Donnell Gresham Jr. - 6'3 195 lbs.
G- (Senior) Tyree Crump - 6'1 185 lbs.
G- (Freshman) Anthony Edwards- 6'5 225 lbs.
F- (Freshman) Toumani Camara - 6'8 220 lbs.
F- (Junior) Rayshaun Hammonds - 6'9 235 lbs.
Auburn:
G- (Senior) Samir Doughty - 6'4 195 lbs.
G- (Senior) J'Von McCormick - 6'0 185 lbs.
F- (Freshman) Isaac Okoro- 6'6 225 lbs.
F- (Senior) Danjel Purifoy - 6'7 230 lbs.
C- (Senior) Austin Wiley - 6'11 260 lbs.
Keys to the game for Georgia:
1. Find a way to limit Austin Wiley's effectiveness.
Georgia does not have a guy on the roster who can match up with Wiley's size and talent. But, that doesn't mean they can't limit how effective he is. Crean's game plan should be similar to how he dealt with Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery of Kentucky in which Richards got in early foul-trouble, and Montgomery was forced to sit do to inability to run the floor with Georgia. When Georgia limited their game and ran the floor, the Bulldogs were able to go on scoring runs, which is why they had the halftime lead.
2. Keep the rebounding totals close.
In the first half against Kentucky, the Bulldogs were able to win the battle on the boards. But in the second half, Georgia allowed Kentucky to grab a few offensive rebounds, leading to second chance points. It is almost impossible to take down a Top-10 team if you give them second chance scoring opportunities.
3. Anthony Edwards needs to out-do Isaac Okoro.
This match up will be one of the top things to see today in all of college basketball: two Georgia-native and highly touted recruits battling it out, head-to-head. Both Okoro and Edwards are also projected first-round picks in the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft. Georgia can gain an advantage if Edwards can out-do Okoro, on both sides of the ball.
