Preview: Georgia at Ole Miss

WHERE: The Pavilion at Ole Miss

WHEN: Saturday, noon

RECORDS: Georgia 7-4, 0-4; Ole Miss 6-4, 1-2.

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Debbie Antonelli); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)

Yes, K.D. Johnson’s 21-point effort in his college debut Wednesday against Auburn was certainly impressive. However, according to head coach Tom Crean, there's a lot more to the freshman's game he believes can benefit his Bulldogs, who look to secure their first SEC win Saturday at Ole Miss.

Tip-off is set for noon (SEC Network).

“He brings a different level of energy and competitiveness to the game, and he's an attacker. The only player that didn't go through our chest and driving the ball to the rim was K.D.,” Crean said. “So much of tonight was lack of talk and lack of—you know, we wanted to guard the ball, screen with two people. Well, those two people have to talk. They've got to talk on the switch. They have to be up. They have to be in those situations, but you've got to start with being tough on the basketball.

“Whether you're getting under, whether you're going over—whatever it is, K.D. Johnson brings that. K.D. brings a different spirit inside of that situation."

Assistant coach Steve McClain agreed.

“If anything, you saw in the first game how he not only impacted the game offensively, he impacted the game defensively,” McClain said. “More than anything, he impacted the game with spirit. He plays with such a fun attitude, how he approaches it. So, nothing really changes. But he does make what we do stronger.”

His presence will also affect how the Bulldogs use point guard Sahvir Wheeler from the defensive aspect.

“What he allows you to do is not to have Sahvir almost always guarding the other team’s point guard. What we’ve been asking Sahvir to do is guard their point guard and be our point guard,” McClain said. “You can now take some of that pressure off him. But saying, 'No, K.D., go get their point guard, and let Sahvir get off the ball.' Sahvir is a very good help defender, but you don’t usually see that, because he’s on the ball. Again, it makes us stronger, because of K.D. being able to do that.”

Of course, Georgia’s recent problems won’t be solved by one person. It’s going to take the entire team.

During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bulldogs were able to surge to their 7-0 start by communicating offensively, moving and cutting, and playing with a high level of intensity.

In back-to-back blowouts to Arkansas and Auburn, that hasn't been the case.

“We didn't talk very well, so I guess I'm responsible for the fact that our talk is not remotely close to what it is in practice when it comes to how we get back in transition defense," Cream said. 'It's got to get better in a hurry, because people are coming at us and we're back on our heels. More importantly, we are not taking initiative of the ball stop. We're looking for our own man, rather than just being in an area with a man and just taking it. Those are the kinds of things we have to get better at. So, I've got to coach better.”

Ole Miss is 6-4 overall and 1-2 in SEC play entering Saturday’s game. Due to COVID-19 issues, the Rebels were the final Power 5 team to start their 2020-21 season. Ole Miss tipped off its campaign on Dec. 10 and wasted no time in getting games in, playing six games over 13 days.

Devontae Shuler leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Rebels at 12.6 ppg, while Romello White and KJ Buffen are chipping in 11.6 ppg and 10.1 ppg, respectively.

“Defensively, they’re really athletic; they’re really long. They play a 1-3-1—looks like they’ve got seven guys on the court. They try to pound the ball inside offensively to that length. Romello White is a very good inside player. He demands the ball in the paint. They’re probably the first team we’ve faced in league play that truly tries to throw that ball inside as much as they can,” McClain said. “From that point, it’s a completely different prep than the other games. We’ve faced teams that are going to shoot 30 threes. They’re not going to shoot 30 threes. They’re going to try to pound it inside, drive it at the rim. We’ve got to do a great job of keeping ourselves in our defense, in our gaps, and close hard to shooters.”