NIT Quarterfinals: Georgia at Ohio State

WHERE: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 19-16, Ohio State 22-13

TV/RADIO: ESPN (Tom Hart, Cory Alexander)

AT STAKE: A berth in the NIT Semifinals in Indianapolis, Ind.

It was a shorthanded team of Georgia Bulldogs that went to Wake Forest Sunday and eased past the Demon Deacons to earn a spot in Tuesday’s quarterfinals of the NIT against Ohio State.

If that happens to be the case once again when the Bulldogs and Buckeyes tip off at Value City Arena in Columbus (7 p.m., ESPN), head coach Mike White is confident his team will once again find a way.

“I thought our guys rallied around the fact that we were a little bit shorthanded,” White said. “That was as hard as we’ve played in the first half, especially on the road, all year. These kids continue to compete in an attempt to lengthen their season. They love one another and they care about one another.”

But will they be 100 percent?

Jabri Abdur-Rahim hasn’t played in six games due to an ankle injury he suffered against Texas A&M. Senior RJ Sunahara also missed the Wake Forest game due to injury, while center Russel Tchewa missed his first game after coming down with an undisclosed illness.

According to a UGA spokesman, Tchewa is listed as “day-to-day.”

If not, other players will have to step up as they did against Wake Forest, like freshman Dylan James who enjoyed his best game as a Bulldog by scoring 14 points on a career-best four 3-pointers.

Frank Anselem-Ibe pulled down eight rebounds, while Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe came off the bench to provide valuable minutes.

“Dylan James played the best game of his young career,” White said. “Frank Anslem getting eight rebounds against their front court was really productive for us. I thought MA Moncrieffe played his best game.”

The Bulldogs face an Ohio State team (22-13) that boasts a name Georgia fans will be familiar with: guard Bruce Thornton, who leads the Buckeyes in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game.

Thornton’s father Bruce played cornerback for the Bulldogs, while his mother Tiauanna played basketball for the Lady Bulldogs. The younger Thornton currently ranks second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.85.

Jamison Battle and Roddy Gayle Jr. also score at a double-digit pace for Ohio State. Battle is averaging 15.1 ppg, while Gayle contributes 13.6 ppg.

Tuesday night’s matchup will mark the second meeting on the hardcourt between the two schools.

The winner earns a bid to the NIT Final Four in Indianapolis.

For the Bulldog to take the next step, White will need his team’s perimeter game to again be on point.

Georgia tied a season-high by converting 14 of 17 3-pointers, and 14 of 17 free throws, to keep the Demon Deacons at bay.

“That’s about as confident as we’ve looked, both at home or on the road. We had a couple at home like that, but we didn’t maintain that level of confidence,” White said. “I liked how we finished that level of confidence from the foul line down the stretch, because that has hurt us and cost us a couple of games down the stretch this year.”

• With Sunday’s 72-66 win over Wake Forest, the Bulldogs are now 28-2 when holding their opponents under 70 points during Mike White’s two seasons at Georgia.

• With last Tuesday’s 78-76 win over Xavier, Georgia upped its record to 9-8 in games that were one-possession contests in the final 5:00, and 7-5 in matchups that were separated by three points or less in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

• Mike White improved to 9-0 in first-round games of the NCAA Tournament and NIT with last Tuesday’s win over Xavier. White is now 15-8 (.652) in the postseason, 6-4 in NCAAs and 9-4 in NITs.

• Georgia enters the Ohio State matchup ranked No. 20 nationally in bench scoring at 28.6 points per game. The Bulldogs’ bench has outscored the opponents’ reserves in 28 of 35 games en route to compiling a season scoring margin of +367...or +10.5 points per game.

• The Bulldogs are making their 15th appearance in the NIT and now have a 15-14 record in the tournament.

• Georgia earned its first postseason bid of any kind to the 1981 NIT and also participated in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

• The Bulldogs’ best NIT finishes came in 1982 and 1998, when they advanced to the semifinal round. Georgia lost to Purdue, 61-60, in the 1982 semis. The Bulldogs fell to Penn State, 66-60, in the 1998 semis but bounced back to defeat Fresno State, 95-79, in the third-place consolation contest.

• Sunday’s win at Wake Forest was Georgia’s first road victory in NIT play since the Bulldogs bested N.C. State, 61-55, on March 17, 1998.

• Georgia won its only previous meeting with Ohio State, an 84-80 overtime decision, on Dec. 28, 1977 in the opening round of the Louisville Classic.