WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum

WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 12-10, 2-7; Alabama 12-10, 4-5

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Paul Sunderland, Pat Bradley); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie); XM/Internet (374/374)

Tom Crean was asked Friday what lessons can be learned from his Bulldogs blowing 20-point leads in each of their past two road games. At least he tried to keep a sense of humor.

“We got up,” said Crean, whose Bulldogs lost a 22-point second-half lead at Florida, barely a week after letting a 20-point lead slip away the week before at Missouri.

“We showed that we could get in those situations, but we just got to do a better job of closing,” he said. “What it comes down to really is on-the-ball defense more than anything else. We've got to guard the ball, whether it's a switching situation, man zone, whatever it is. We have to do a much better job of guarding the ball and keep it out of the paint, the way that it's getting in there.”

Unfortunately, that’s not happening.

Although Georgia players like Donnell Gresham Jr. and Jordan Harris claim they’re not frustrated, when you have the opportunity to come away with big road wins and blow huge margins as the Bulldogs did against Mizzou and Florida, it hurts.

“We’ve got to take it a possession at a time. Against Florida, we let them hit a couple of shots early and gain some confidence,” Gresham said. “If we get up like that again, we’ve just got to lock in on the defensive end.”

Unfortunately, defense continues to be one of the bigger problems for Georgia (12-10, 2-7), which hosts Alabama (12-10, 4-5) Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum (6 p.m., SEC Network).

Check out these numbers.

The Bulldogs rank 11th in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 74.9 points per game. They're dead last in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot .481 percent.

That was certainly true against the Gators, who outscored the Bulldogs 55-34 in the second half, including a 34-5 run.

“I think we just get riled up, especially away, especially when our team gets quiet and stuff,” Harris said. “It’s just something we’ve got to keep getting better at."

Zone defenses continue to give the Bulldogs all sorts of trouble. Georgia’s 3-point field goal percentage is a mere .300, which only encourages that particular defensive strategy from opponents like Florida.

“I think the bottom line is, when a team switches into a zone and you're a cutting movement offense, like we are for the most part, you can't stop doing that,” Crean said. “You've got to keep cutting, and you can't let the zone stop you from doing that. If it’s a screen offense, set the screen. In most situations, there are going to be screens and cuts, and I think that's what hurt us a little bit.

“It’s not about standing and waiting for the balls. It’s to continue to cut and move the defense, because it's the same guys that were just guarding you man-to-man; they were just standing in one spot.”

Anthony Edwards, who scored a team-high 32 against Florida, obviously has the potential to play the role of zone breaker. However, the freshman hasn’t had a lot of help, and despite his final total, went 13 minutes without scoring a point when the Gators were making their run.

Crean conceded the zone affected Edwards’ second-half performance.

“A little bit. We put (Anthony) in the middle for a minute there, and then we wanted to get him back out onto the perimeter,” Crean said. “We put him in the middle, and he looked to pass the ball rather than score. When you put a guy in the middle and if you have a chance to score the ball, let's do it. Let's attack and go. I don’t think he cut as much.”

Rayshaun Hammonds’ recent struggles haven’t helped.

The junior hasn’t been much of a factor for two weeks now, scoring just 21 points over Georgia’s last four games and averaging just 4.25 rebounds over that same span, over three below his season average of 7.5.

“He just has to go a little bit harder. He just has to go at it. He's got to be more aggressive. It’s got to be in his first two steps,” Crean said. “He has to escape the block-out a little better. You have to get to the glass when you rebound like that, so that becomes something where he just has to be more aggressive in those areas."

Anthony Dasher

The play of Sahvir Wheeler will be key to this game as he’ll be matched up against Kira Lewis who Crean said is the quickest guard in the SEC. Getting Hammonds back to playing consistent ball would certainly help, but the focus will be on Wheeler. If he can somewhat keep Lewis from dictating the pace, the Bulldogs will be able to pull out a close one. Prediction: Georgia 82, Alabama 78

Dan McDonald

For the second straight week, Georgia comes home for a Saturday home game after blowing a big lead on the road. Unfortunately for Bulldogs fans, I don't think this week will have the same result. I think the combination of Kira Lewis and John Petty will be too much for the Dawgs to keep up with, although Alabama has struggled without Herb Jones. Crimson Tide win this close. Prediction: Alabama 78, Georgia 75