WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum

WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 9-6, 2-6; Ole Miss 8-7, 3-5

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Jon Sunvold); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)

For the third time since the start of SEC play, Georgia’s basketball team enters a game where the previous opponent beat the Bulldogs by 18 points or more.

How did the previous two occasions go?

After being smacked around by Arkansas 99-69 on Jan 9, the Bulldogs returned home four days later, only to be shellacked by Auburn, 95-78, before responding to beat Ole Miss in Oxford, 78-74.

Flash forward to last Wednesday against what was a struggling South Carolina team, in Columbia. The Gamecocks stopped struggling long enough to roll the Bulldogs 89-53. It was a startling loss in many respects, as Georgia’s perimeter issues reached season lows.

Saturday night against Ole Miss (6 p.m., SEC Network), the Bulldogs will try to make amends.

“One of the most important areas of focus for this team is not losing confidence when we’re not making shots,” head coach Tom Crean said. “We’ve just got to keep grinding through it.”

However, that's been easier said than done as the Bulldogs’ issues this month have been plain for all to see.

Offensively, Georgia’s overall field goal percentage of.457 is third best in the SEC, but the problem has been in the Bulldogs’ perimeter game.

Coming into Saturday’s return game against Ole Miss (8-7, 3-5), Georgia’s three-point percentage is a mere .307. The team has converted just 15 of its last 65 shots from beyond the arc.

It’s not just the shooting that has been an issue. Rebounding, or the lack thereof, has been a huge problem.

Georgia's been outrebounded for six straight games, which coincides with the drop in second-half intensity that’s plagued the team in its most recent losses for Florida and South Carolina.

For those wondering, the Bulldogs’ 36.5 rebounds per game are next-to-last in the SEC.

“Definitely rebounding, collective rebounding for sure. We’re a small team, we know that. We have to have consistent effort from everybody, one through five, all the guards and all the bigs,” point guard Sahvir Wheeler said. “We just have to continue to hit guys and run in and sweep up those rebounds, then we go into our break. Winning the boards every game will definitely help our position in the game, and our fast breaks and the way we want to play.”

Getting their act together on the defensive end has not been easy.

According to graduate transfer Andrew Garcia, it sounds like a lot of work needs to be done.

“We did shoot a lot yesterday in practice. At the same time, as always, we’re trying to figure out on the defensive end what’s best for our team, what’s going to make everybody comfortable playing. We emphasized the defensive end more, because we felt like if we can control that and get those boards, we can make a difference.”

Wheeler agreed.

"Andrew is right on having a big emphasis on defense, because you always can improve. I think our defense against South Carolina in the first half was pretty solid. The first 18 possessions, we stopped them 15 times,” Wheeler said. “It was our fault we didn't put the ball in our hands. Whether it was turnovers, some missed open shots, or whatever the case may be, defense can always be a great thing to work and focus on. Offensively, we always must get better. We're finding new ways, listening to the coaches, watching film, and taking it one day at a time."

Wheeler said the key moving forward is simply not to look back.

“You have to live to fight another day. You can't worry about it, learn from your mistakes, because you have a game coming up,” Wheeler said. “We know what we have to get better at that, and we'll go back to the drawing board."

Ole Miss is 8-7 overall and 3-5 in SEC play entering Saturday’s game. The Rebels are 2-1 since facing Georgia, defeating Mississippi State and Texas A&M before falling at Arkansas on Wednesday night.

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, with six contests were over 13 days.

Devontae Shuler and Jarkel Joiner are scoring at double-digit paces of 15.1 and 10.9 points per game, respectively, for the Rebels. That duo accounted for 62 percent of Ole Miss’ scoring output—46 of 74 points—in the matchup in Oxford on Jan. 16.

Romello White is a single bucket shy of being a third double-figure scorer at 9.9 ppg, while Luis Rodriguez is hauling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.