Preview: Georgia set for high-flying Hawgs

Georgia at Arkansas

WHERE: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark.

WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 7-2, 0-2; Arkansas 9-1, 1-2

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald, Dane Bradshaw); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)

Georgia’s perimeter challenges have been well-documented, especially from three-point range, where the Bulldogs are converting just over 30 percent of their shots (59-of-191).

Saturday afternoon at Arkansas (3:30 p.m., SEC Network) it would behoove the Bulldogs (7-2, 0-2) to be more on their game.

The Razorbacks like to shoot three-pointers and they do it very well, making good on 104 of 309 attempts, marks that currently stand as the second-best in the entire SEC.

“Arkansas plays as fast and fierce as anyone in the SEC. They come at you with an attack the rim mentality and create a ton of threes because of it. This year, they are scoring more and more from their defense. How we get back and transition and control the pressure they put on the rim will be big,” Crean said. “Everyone can make threes so our awareness and shot challenges will be crucial. We have to keep them in front of us on the drives and keep them off the free throw line.”

However, that might be easier said than done.

The Razorbacks (9-2, 1-2) have gone to the line more times (181) than any other team in the SEC, and rank sixth in the conference making good on 73 percent of their attempts.

Arkansas is the highest-scoring team in the SEC at 87.2 points per game. The Bulldogs are third at 81.4

“They going to put five shooters on the floor including a 7'3 Connor Vanover who shoots threes with great regularity,” Crean said. “They're going to be a different matchup; there were certain times tonight that LSU didn't put a team full of shooters out on the floor outside of the four scorers. I think Arkansas has more guys that can make shots so we're going to have to be really attentive to what we need to get done defensively there."

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said he’s been impressed with the Bulldogs.

“They have an identity. They played really fast. They do a great job offensive rebounding,” he said. “We had a lot of time after the last game in the locker room, and we were able to watch some of the LSU-Georgia game, and that thing obviously went overtime. They played LSU great. It’s tough in a game like that, that either team has to lose. But Georgia is a really, really good basketball team.”

The Bulldogs (7-2, 0-2) come into play hoping for another repeat performance by grad transfer Justin Kier, who scored a career-high 25 points in the overtime loss to LSU, an effort that included six three-pointers.

“You can definitely get better in practice, but the reps have to be real and they have to be focused. Game speed has a lot to do with it,” Crean said. “Someone holding you accountable for the proper footwork, technique and balance is huge. To become a better shooter, you have to be very serious about getting better. It’s never about just getting shots up.”

…The Razorbacks are still without fourth-leading scorer Justin Smith (11.6 ppg) after injuring his ankle in the league opener at Auburn.

…Georgia is one of three Division I teams – of 345 that have played this season – with six players currently averaging double figures in the scoring column.

• The combined rosters of UGA & UA feature 20 players in their first seasons competing as Dogs and Hogs; however, neither team has a fourth-year senior.

• Toumani Carama is tied for the league lead and is tied at No. 16 nationally with four double-doubles. All of those have come in the Bulldogs’ last six games.

• Sahvir Wheeler’s three double-digit assist outings in the first three games of the season were as many as any SEC player posted in all of 2019-20.

• UGA’s roster features eight newcomers with representative in every class – two freshmen, a sophomore, two juniors and a trio of graduate transfers.

Arkansas is 9-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC entering Saturday’s game.

The Razorbacks were one of the league’s last undefeated teams, racing to a 9-0 start to the 2020-21 season before dropping back-to-back decisions to ranked SEC foes. Arkansas’ initial setback came to No. 12 Missouri last Saturday before the Razorbacks lost to No. 9 Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday.

Like Georgia, Arkansas features an extremely balanced offensive attack.

Five Razorbacks are contributing double-figure scoring averages – Moses Moody 15.9 ppg, JD Notae 15.7 ppg, Desi Sills 12.1 ppg, Justin Smith 11.6 ppg and Jalen Tate 10.4 ppg – while Connor Vanover is eight points shy of also scoring at a double-digit clip (102 points in 11 games for a 9.3 ppg average).

Georgia returns home Wednesday night against Auburn