Georgia Bulldogs to face Florida Gators at Stegeman
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs will get another crack at one of their biannual basketball rivals when the Florida Gators come to town for a 9:00 PM ET tipoff Tuesday.
The Georgia Bulldogs will get another shot at the Florida Gators this season when they host one of their biannual basketball rivals on the hardwood Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Tipoff is at 9:00 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN.
Georgia suffered its first SEC loss of the season when the Dawgs played the Gators at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville on January 2nd, 77-63. UGA struggled to defend the perimeter in the O’Dome, as Florida torched the Dawgs from long-range in their SEC opener.
Entering play Tuesday night, both the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators are in the top half of the SEC standings with identical 7-5 records in conference play. Georgia is 14-9 overall and Florida is two wins better at 16-9. Both teams need to perform well down the stretch to receive an invitation to the big dance.
The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a convincing road win down in Starkville this weekend, topping the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Humphrey Coliseum Saturday night, 66-57. Georgia leaned on senior point guard Charles Mann and sophomore power forward Yante Maten in the Dawgs’ second road victory on the season. Both Mann and Maten had over 20 points against Mississippi State.
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While Georgia was on paper the better team against Mississippi State on Saturday, winning on the road in SEC play has not come easily for most teams in the conference. A lot of programs have only one conference win away from their home court, so any road win is a great one this season.
Outside of a few games where the players look visibly tired (Texas A&M, Baylor, Kentucky), the Georgia Bulldogs usually are able to bring the defensive tenacity necessary to keep games close even if the offense isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
Georgia is a significantly better team when it is playing on its home court. Since this is a prime time home game on ESPN, assume that Stegeman will be at capacity as the hated Florida Gators come to Athens.
Next: Georgia Bulldogs win on the road in Starkville, 66-57
For both programs, a win in this game will serve as a résumé booster, while a loss may end up being the final nail in the coffin for either team’s at-large NCAA Tournament bid dreams. It’s not going to come easily, but a win over the Gators on Tuesday night will definitely a big boost of confidence for this UGA team down the stretch in SEC play. Go Dawgs!