What: Georgia (12-4, 2-1 SEC) at South Carolina (14-2, 2-1 SEC)

When: Tuesday, 9p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C.

TV: ESPNU

The Hoop Dawgs hit the road this week with hopes of starting a new streak.

Georgia gave #5 Tennessee all it had Saturday in Athens. Despite trailing by double digits early on, the Bulldogs (12-4, 2-1 SEC) fought back in a big way in front of a crowd approaching the 11,000 mark.

The Dawgs held an 11-point edge under the 6 minute mark, but saw it slip away late at the hands of the Volunteers and UT guard Dalton Knecht. Knecht shot 12-for-20 (60%) from the field and 5-for-8 (62.5%) from deep en route to a 36-point performance.

“It was an incredible environment. I’m really appreciative to all of our fans that showed up and for how they showed up,” said UGA Coach Mike White. “It was as loud as I’ve ever heard Stegeman. It was just unfortunate that we weren’t able to capitalize and reward our fans for helping us and being as big of a factor as they were.”

“We’ve got a lot of room for growth and we have to get back to work,” White added. “We handled success the right way over those last 10, so let’s see how we handle some adversity.”

Now the Bulldogs hit the road for two straight SEC road games, starting Tuesday night in Columbia, S.C.

Like Georgia, South Carolina has made dramatic improvements this season over last. The Gamecocks (14-2, 2-1 SEC) return home after pulling out a 71-69 overtime thriller Saturday at Mizzou.

Second year coach Lamont Paris’ club is lead by its unquestioned leader Meechie Johnson. The junior Ohio State transfer is averaging over 17 points per game on nearly 44% shooting. That said, you can bet the Bulldogs will pick apart Saturday’s game film as the Tigers stifled Johnson. He put up just 5 pts in Como.

Missouri’s ability to shut down Johnson would have resulted in a Tiger victory if it weren’t for a host of other Gamecocks elevating their games Saturday. Carolina’s supporting cast has been consistent all season thus far.

Georgia will look to limit B.J. Mack down low. The 6’8″, 270-pound forward leads the team in rebounds while averaging 13.4 ppg. Mack will likely go head-to-head with Georgia big man Russel Tchewa. Tchewa’s looking for a bounce back performance following his less than stellar outing against the Vols.

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s matchup, UGA guards Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Silas Demary Jr. feel good about their squad’s chances.

“We know we have a good team with a lot of confident players and we’re going to remain that way the rest of the season,” said Abdur-Rahim.

“We just gotta move on to the next game and not worry about the past,” added Demary. “South Carolina’s a good team and it’s a quad 1 game so we just have to look forward to what’s next.”

Who’s hot

For Georgia, it’s Abdur-Rahim and Demary. Abdur-Rahim put up 21-points against Tennessee on 5-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. He also dropped in all 6 of his free throw attempts. Demary, meanwhile, added 13 pts. 2 of those came via a monster 2nd half slam that electrified the entire venue.

For South Carolina, it’s the aforementioned Mack as well as point man Ta’Lon Cooper. Mack dropped in 21 pts over the weekend, while Cooper leads the Gamecocks in both minutes – a whopping 32.4 mpg – and assists.

Who’s not

Georgia’s Russel Tchewa was off his game Saturday. The Dawg’s big guy went 0-for-5 and had 2 costly turnovers down the stretch. The good news? He’s healthy and has shown his ability to dominate the paint in several games this year.

Meechie Johnson is undoubtedly the Gamecock’s most dynamic scorer. But he has cooled off as of late – particularly from deep. He’s gone just 3-of-13 from three in Carolina’s last two tilts.

How they stack up

Georgia’s key wins: Wake Forest, at Florida State, High Point

South Carolina’s key wins: Virginia Tech, Grand Canyon, Mississippi State

Most recent meeting: March 4, 2023 (SC def. UGA, 61-55)

Series history: South Carolina leads 50-43