By Brant Daughtry

Let’s Try This Again

Mike White, one of the coaches who’s seemingly had Bruce Pearl’s number since he arrived, has had a decent first year at UGA, certainly an improvement over where the Bulldogs had been. Since the start of SEC play, Georgia is 4-4, placing them firmly in the middle of the conference. Other than their win over Auburn in Stegman Colosseum in the conference opener, the Bulldogs have mostly beaten the bad teams they’ve played, and lost to the good. They’re a solid middle-of-the-pack squad, that can give anyone trouble if things go well for them.

Something to note: Georgia is 1-5 in true away games. That one win came against Ole Miss, a team that will most likely finish 12th in the conference this year. They have struggled away from home, especially against good teams.

Players to Watch For:

Guard Terry Roberts, #0- Roberts is the leader in minutes and points scored for Georgia, and the only player averaging more than 30 minutes for the team. He scores about 15 per game, but his season high of 26 came in the first game against Auburn. Auburn has had a ton of trouble with guards who can score consistently, and it’s not a secret anymore. Auburn’s defense is going to have to step up to fix that issue to keep Roberts from scoring at will again. His passing is also dangerous, as he leads Georgia in assists with more than four per game.

Guard Kario Oquendo, #3- Oquendo led the Dogs in scoring last year, and is second for them this year. Sort of the Robin to Roberts’ Batman. He doesn’t do as much as Roberts, but he’s a very solid scoring guard. Having two good scorers at the guard spot is a good formula based on the trends we’ve seen from Auburn defensively this year.

It’s gut check time. Auburn rattled of a streak of great performances against bad teams, then face planted against a good Texas A&M team. After a miserable first half on the road, you played maybe the best half of offensive basketball you’ve had all season at West Virginia, but still couldn’t come out on top. That makes this Georgia game more important than it should be. This is probably the easiest game left on the schedule, because as favorably as the first half of the schedule set up, the second half is absolutely brutal. Starting a losing streak at this time is absolute worst case scenario, so you have to get some momentum going. The number 2 team in the country is this weekend, and you travel to their place. Lose to Georgia, and suddenly four losses in a row is entirely possible. Georgia is bad away from home. But the last time these two played, Georgia came away a winner. Do whatever you have to do to slow down their scoring guards, and you should come away winners. But the way Auburn has been playing lately, that “if” feels bigger and bigger.