Georgia Bulldogs host Kansas State Wildcats
By John Buhler
The 3-2 Georgia Bulldogs will host the 5-1 Kansas State Wildcats at Stegeman Coliseum Friday night at 7:00 PM ET. The SEC Network will air the game.
The Georgia Bulldogs will have their hands full when they host the Big 12’s Kansas State Wildcats in a big non-conference game for both schools. K-State enters play with a 5-1 record with their only loss on the road against the North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC is the No. 9 team in the AP Top 25 entering Week 4 on the 2015-16 season.
Georgia won a shootout with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday night, winning 86-82 at home to move to 3-2 on the season. While the Georgia Bulldogs had their best offensive game of the season against the Golden Grizzlies, they will have to do their best against a K-State team that is 53rd in points allowed per game (64.0) and an even better 41st in team defensive rating (91.0).
-= Related: Georgia Bulldogs win shootout over Oakland, 86-82 =-
Tuesday night’s win over Oakland hopefully brings some more confidence to the UGA offense. Junior guard J.J. Frazier and sophomore forward Yante Maten each had spectacular offensive games on Tuesday and hopefully will provide more of the same against K-State at Stegeman Coliseum tonight.
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Entering tonight’s big non-conference game, UGA has four players averaging double figures in scoring. Senior shooting guard Kenny Gaines is leading the charge with 16.4 points per game, shooting a blistering 48.6% from three-point land. He’s becoming the Georgia Bulldogs’ go-to scorer from long distance in his senior season.
Maten is performing well down low with 14.8 points per game and an impressive 8.8 rebounds per game. He’s gradually turning into a very special player for head coach Mark Fox. His free throw shooting and defensive prowess could one day help him get to the next level.
Point guard Charles Mann is averaging good numbers in his senior season as well. Mann is scoring 10.4 points per game, gathering 4.0 rebounds per game, and dishing out 3.2 assists per game. He may not ever become an efficient shooter while at Georgia, but he is surely one of the team’s most competitive players.
Junior guard J.J. Frazier is an effectively streaky shooter for the Dawgs. He had a season-high 23 points versus Oakland, averaging 13.4 points per game. Frazier has also been great distributing the basketball as the team’s sixth man, averaging a team-high 4.2 assists per game.
For the Georgia Bulldogs to knock off a good Kansas State team, three of UGA’s four star players will need to have great games. Gaines was somewhat quiet versus Oakland due to foul trouble. I think he’ll have a big game against the Wildcats. Maten has been the most consistent offensive player on the team, so I expect he’ll play well again.
Next: Yante Maten: The inside presence UGA needs
It will come down to if either Charles Mann or J.J. Frazier will have a big game. Hopefully both do and the Dawgs can move to 4-2 on the year with an impressive win in the non-conference for their end of season resume. Go Dawgs!