Georgia at No. 5 Florida
WHERE: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center
WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 14-5, 2-4; Florida 17-2, 4-2
TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Mike Morgan, Mark Wise); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)
The Game
It’s been a difficult week-plus for Georgia’s basketball team.
After getting blown out by No. 6 Tennessee, the Bulldogs returned home to fall two points short of upending No.1 Auburn. That was followed by a second-half collapse that saw Georgia fall to Arkansas after leading by 15 points.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any easier in the mega-tough SEC, which for Georgia (14-5, 2-4) resumes Saturday afternoon (3:30, SEC Network) with a road game at No. 5 Florida (17-2, 4-2)
“It really wasn't much about scheme, offense, defense. It was about our approach, our mentality, our early second half,” White said of his team’s second-half failures against the Razorbacks. “We did some good things in the early second half and didn't get out of sorts offensively, which we have in other games, which really cost us in the defensive transition. But were pounded on the glass early second half. I mean they set the tone.”
If the Bulldogs aren’t careful, the Gators are more than capable of doing the same.
Florida is the SEC’s second-best rebounding team, averaging 44.5 per game. Arkansas – which ranks next to last with 33.9 – dominated the Bulldogs on the glass 40-30. That performance included limiting Georgia to a mere eight offensive boards.
“We didn't meet that challenge as well as this team is very capable of and has done most nights this season,” White said. “We’ve got to address that. We've got to talk about it. Right around the corner, we've got another team that's phenomenal in the offensive glass."
If the Bulldogs want to pull the upset, they’d better.
“Just a reminder to our guys, we talked about it the whole second half; we're either going to do it or not,” White said. “Mental toughness is doing what's hard all the time, not when you feel like it, not when it's going well for you, and not when the crowd's quiet.”
Scouting the Gators
Florida is 17-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC action. The Gators are ranked No. 5 by the AP poll and No. 6 in the Coaches' Ledger this week. Florida is coming off a dramatic 70-69 victory at South Carolina on Wednesday night.
Walter Clayton Jr. leads a potent Gator offense, contributing 17.8 of Florida’s 85.1 points per game. He also tops the Gators at 3.9 assists per game and 3-pointers at 2.9 per game.
Three more players are scoring at a double-figure clip for Florida: Alijah Martin at 16.1 ppg, Will Richard at 13.5 ppg, and Alex Condon at 10.5 points per game and a team-most 8.2 rebounds per game.
This and That
• Georgia and Florida will face off for the 231st time on Saturday, the most games the Bulldogs have played against any opponent.
• Rounding out the Top 5 in games played against Georgia are Auburn and Georgia Tech with 200 outings each, and Tennessee and Kentucky, both with 161.
• Georgia opened SEC play by facing five straight Top 25 opponents. Prior to this season, the Bulldogs had only played three consecutive ranked foes four times. Georgia had never played ranked opposition four outings in a row, let alone five.
• Georgia is in the midst of a six-game stretch when the Bulldogs will face four top-10 teams – No. 6/6 Tennessee, No. 1/1 Auburn, No. 5/6 Florida, and No. 4/3 Alabama – with three of those matchups being on the road.
• Of Georgia’s 18 SEC games, 10 are against teams tabbed as Top 4 seeds in the latest published edition of ESPN.com’s Bracketology, including six road outings at No. 2 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 5 Texas A&M.
