With its 76-42 loss to Illinois on Saturday, the Georgia Bulldog basketball team fell to 5-3 on the year. The 34-point loss marked the second time this season that the Bulldogs have lost by 20 or more points and follows the team’s 67-63 loss at Western Kentucky this past Tuesday. Those that picked Georgia to finish last in the SEC may have already seen enough of the Bulldogs’ season to feel safe in their prediction, but the team’s next six games will be a truer indicator of just how good head coach Dennis Felton’s 2008-09 team will be.
All three of Georgia’s losses have come away from Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs will play their next six games at home, starting with Virginia Tech on Tuesday. A game with Missouri on Jan. 3 will end the stretch. Georgia’s young team, like a lot of young teams, has struggled on the road, getting blown out by the Illini and by Loyola of Chicago earlier in the season. It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs play at home against quality competition. That will show the Bulldogs where they stand in the SEC’s pecking order this year.
Also, freshman forward Howard Thompkins will continue to try to work his way back to being a factor after missing most of fall practice and the start of the season. Thompkins averaged seven points in the team’s last two losses while shooting 30 percent from the field. His development will also be interesting to watch over the next six games. Sandwiched in between games with Virginia Tech and Missouri are contests with Wofford, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, North Carolina A&T and Kennesaw State. Georgia will return to the road with a trip to Georgia Tech on Jan. 6, before starting SEC play at home against Tennessee on Jan. 10.
Having 10 or more wins in pre-conference play is attainable. That would give the Bulldogs confidence as they start their SEC schedule.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
Loading ...
