Georgia Bulldogs stifle Auburn Tigers, 65-55
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs get their sixth win in SEC play by playing outstanding defense against a struggling Auburn Tigers team, winning Saturday 65-55 at home.
While the Georgia Bulldogs didn’t shoot the basketball particularly well against the Auburn Tigers Saturday evening, they certainly brought the tenacity defensively, holding Auburn to 26.3% shooting from the field, beating the Auburn Tigers 65-55 at home in Stegeman Coliseum.
The Dawgs had three starters in double figures scoring against the Tigers. Junior guard J.J. Frazier led the way with 16 points, six rebounds, five steals, and four assists. While Frazier didn’t shoot the ball well from the field (3-10), he did most of his scoring at the charity stripe, sinking nine of his 11 free throw attempts.
Senior point guard Charles Mann had 12 points on 3-6 shooting and 6-8 at the line. He had four rebounds, two steals, and an assist running the point for the Dawg Saturday evening.
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Sophomore power forward Yante Maten had himself a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks. His game was impressive defensively and he really had to grind to get in double figures against Auburn, as he didn’t shoot well from the floor (4-11) or at the line (4-8). Still, this is one of those games where great players still find ways to get the ball in the hoop even when they aren’t feeling it.
With this win over the Auburn Tigers, the Georgia Bulldogs move to 13-8 on the year and 6-4 in SEC play. While this win doesn’t really elevate UGA’s stock for an outside shot at an NCAA Tournament bid again in 2016, exerting a strong defensive effort against a team that was missing its best player in point guard Kareem Canty due to his indefinite suspension, has to stand as a boost for UGA’s confidence for when they take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena in Lexington on Tuesday.
A win over a 17-6 (7-3) Kentucky Wildcats team could stand as a big enough of a win to get the Dawgs back into the Last Four In/First Four Out conversations with regards to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
UGA will likely need to finish no worse than 6-2 in their final eight regular season games before the SEC Tournament to have any realistic hopes of making back to the Big Dance. Georgia will probably have to upset either Kentucky or South Carolina again to make some head way in the SEC, a conference that almost certainly send five teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Next: Georgia Bulldogs upset No. 25 South Carolina, 69-56
Georgia is currently in sixth place in the SEC, so with a little luck, then maybe the Dawgs can go dancing again in 2016. Great win. Let’s Go Dawgs!