Georgia broke a four game losing streak in a midweek win over the hapless South Carolina Gamecocks. It was a nice respite, but it’s over.
The Hoop Hounds travel to Tuscaloosa this afternoon to take on the #4 ranked Crimson Tide in yet another brutal SEC battle.
Keys To Victory
* The Bulldogs absolutely must limit the turnovers. They’ve given up 14.8 takeaways over the past five games, including 18 last weekend in a 30 point shellacking at the hands of the Florida Gators.
* Accepting charity. Georgia shot 80% from the free throw line against both Florida and South Carolina. But they gave away a chance at a major upset when they shot only 45% from the line against #1 ranked Auburn. A reprise of that effort on the road at Coleman Coliseum will end in embarrassment.
* Leffew? More like Le Spark. Graduate transfer guard Dakota Leffew got his first start against the Gamecocks and responded with a solid 14 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Alabama is going to press defensively, and having someone not named Asa Newell or Silas DeMary who can get hot and redirect some of that pressure would be very helpful in a tough road environment. Speaking of which….
* Weathering the Storm. This Bulldog team has been better than Coach White’s prior outfits at weathering opponent runs. But we saw in the Arkansas loss that they’re still not immune to racing out to a lead then letting it slip away. Against this deep Alabama team the second half is going to be a challenge. How this Bulldog team handles that challenge will go a long way toward telling us whether they’re truly ready to play meaningful March basketball.
Tipoff is at 4:00 eastern with TV coverage on ESPN2.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!