WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum

RECORDS: Georgia 4-0; Samford 2-1

TV/RADIO: SEC Network+ (Van Earl Wright, Mark Slonaker); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler)

When Samford scored 174 points in an exhibition win over Greenville, it certainly served as an eye-opener, not only to fans but head coaches like Georgia’s Tom Crean.

“When you’ve scored 174 points in the game, it doesn’t matter who you are playing against—you have a high-powered offense,” said Crean, whose Bulldogs entertain Samford Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum. “We’re going to have to do a great job defensively.”

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

As the head coach at Birmingham’s Mountain Brook High, first-year coach Bucky McMillan led that team to five Class 7A titles in 12 seasons, using the same helter-skelter style of tempo he is now brought to Samford.

‘It’s the old John Wooden—play quick, but don’t hurry. We can’t be in a situation where we get all rushed and do those types of things,” Crean said. “We have to get good shots. We have to get very good shots. But, at the same time we have to come down and have to challenge their shots. We can’t be a team that allows them just to sit there and get to the foul line because they drove to the rim or got open threes because we over helped.”

If you like points, this should be the game for you.

Although Samford’s regular-season average is “down” to 90 points per game, the Bulldogs are not very far behind, averaging 82.5 points through four games.

Crean did not sound worried about getting into a track meet with the visiting Bulldogs.

“No, no, we want to play fast. I mean there is no doubt about that,” Crean said. “We anticipate that they will. He is established in his program. He can mix defenses. He can press man to man. He can press with the zone. He can fall back to man to man. He can fall back to his zone. They play 12 guys. He is an excellent coach. I have known Bucky McMillan for a long time. He is an excellent coach. I love the way they are playing. I like watching his team.”

…Georgia enters the Samford game ranked No. 11 nationally in rebound margin at a whopping +15.5. Ironically, the Bulldogs are also averaging exactly 15.5 offensive rebounds per game, a tally that is No. 9 in D-I.

… Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC with three point-assist efforts. Texas A&M’s Emmanuel Miller and Arkansas’ Tulo Smith were the only other SEC players with multiple double-doubles entering Saturday.

… Toumani Camara is averaging 14.3 ppg and 8.0 rpg. Last season, he averaged 6.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Camara’s increased offensive production can be traced to the second half of last season. After scoring in double figures once in the Bulldogs’ first 16 games, he did so seven times in the final 16 outings. With three more double-digit tallies this season, Camara has now scored 10 or more points in 10 of Georgia’s last 20 contests.

Samford was the buzz of the college basketball world on Nov. 25 when the Bulldogs scored 174 points in an exhibition victory over Greenville. It does not take too long to do the division and realize that 174 points equates to more than four points per minute. It is actually 4.35 points per minute once you get assistance from a calculator.

The Bulldogs’ scoring pace has slowed since beginning regular-season play. Samford arrives in Athens averaging a paltry 90.0 ppg.

First-year head coach Bucky McMillan is employing the same up-tempo concept he used during a highly successful run at Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham to win five Class 7A state titles in 12 seasons.

Five Bulldogs are averaging double digits in the scoring column. Myron Gordon comes off the bench to contribute a team-high 19.5 ppg, while Christian Guess chips in 15.7 ppg, Logan Dye adds 15.3 ppg, A.J. Staton McCray averages 11.7 ppg and Jacob Tryon is at 11.0 ppg.