After losing to SEC rival Auburn on Wednesday, Georgia (10-11, 1-6 SEC) will try to end its current three game losing streak against the Tennessee Volunteers (10-12, 2-5 SEC) on Saturday night. Tennessee is also on a losing streak, with the most recent loss coming to No. 1 Kentucky 69-44 on Tuesday.
Knoxville has been a house of horrors for the Bulldogs. They have lost nine of their past 10 games at Thompson-Boling Arena, with the lone win taking place last season. Mark Fox’s team is 2-6 on the road but will try to establish a streak of winning in Knoxville. That might prove difficult because Tennessee is 9-3 at home and leads the all-time series in Knoxville, 53-15.
Georgia has already beaten Tennessee once this year, 57-53 in an overtime thriller, giving the team hope that it can do it again. In that game, Gerald Robinson led the team with 16 points and six rebounds. Donte Williams also had a big game, scoring 11 points and nabbing eight rebounds. Among other factors, the rebounds by Williams and Robinson played a huge role in that victory.
To sweep the season series against the Volunteers, Mark Fox will need his team to be more aggressive with rebounding and shot selection. Rebounding has been a huge weakness for the team and will once again be key in ensuring a victory. Tennessee out-rebounded the Dawgs 44-42 in the last meeting and is second in the SEC when it comes to rebounds, averaging 36.8 per game. Georgia averages 4 rebounds less per game than the Volunteers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Williams average the most rebounds per game on the team, and Fox needs them to put forth their best effort this weekend. Caldwell-Pope, the team’s leading scorer, is the spark plug for the team. When he has big games, his teammates usually have good games as well. His play this weekend will be a key factor in whether or not the Dawgs can pull out a victory. Robinson is arguably the most consistent player for Coach Fox, who will need him to continue the trend.
Tennessee scores more points per game than the Dawgs, 68.4 to 60.6, respectively, and Georgia will need to capitalize on every scoring opportunity. They are last in the SEC in field goal percentage with a lowly mark of .389. Coach Fox’s team will need to improve on its shooting and rebounding to beat Tennessee. Fox’s squad is able to play a strong defensive game, so expect this game to be a low scoring game, just like the last time this two teams met.
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