The Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team travels to Columbia, Missouri today for their first SEC matchup against the 8-5 Missouri Tigers. The Bulldogs finished off non-conference play with an impressive 10-3 record, and are currently on an eight-game winning streak. The highlights from non-conference action include a 17-point comeback win on the road against Florida State, as well as a double-digit victory against rival Georgia Tech in Athens.

As conference play begins, Georgia will be prepared for tough matchups due to their quality opponents early on. To this point, the Bulldogs only losses of the season came against three tournament-caliber teams: Oregon, Miami (FL), and Providence. Coach White and his staff could have scheduled weak opponents to have the team possibly undefeated heading into January. However, these games early on aide preparation and build an identity before facing SEC competition.

Missouri will be a great road matchup for Georgia to open SEC play. Similar to the Bulldogs, the Tigers have played quality opponents prior to conference play, including a road matchup with Kansas and a neutral site game against Illinois. This will be Georgia’s second true road game of the season, with a few pervious matchups being held at neutral sites in front of small crowds. This will be the perfect game for the Bulldogs to adjust to a true road environment, as they are scheduled to travel to Kentucky and Florida later this month. If Coach White’s team has any hopes of a tournament bid in March, they need to pad their resume with as many road conference wins as possible.

Mike White’s Pregame Quotes

On the league’s makeup…

“A bunch of teams in our league have different rosters and are different than they were a year ago, of course, but at least most of these teams you’ve at least seen on TV to a certain extent or watched film on. Missouri is one of those that we’ve gotten pretty familiar with, especially over the break, and they’ve gotten familiar with us, but it’s go time. It’s SEC time. There are great opportunities right around the corner. It’s the best league in the country.”

On the team’s first conference game being at Missouri…

“Any road game in this league is going to be incredibly difficult these days. But, again, they’re great opportunities as well. We’ve got to do our best to try and protect home as much as possible and try to break through on the road at some point.”

On how the team’s non-conference schedule prepared them…

“I’m not sure that we’ve played in an environment that we’ll play in tomorrow. The energy level in the building will be something, I imagine, that our guys haven’t seen yet. But you’ve got to face that at some point and be tested at some point. So we’ll see how we respond.”

On the newcomers playing in road contests in the SEC…

“Everybody’s got to go through it. Every roster in this league will have to go through it for the first time. Some teams are going to have veterans that it doesn’t phase, and some teams you’re going to have guys that it will be a little bit more of a factor. We are fortunate that we have played away from home a few times. This will be magnified a little bit more, but we’ll see. I like the maturity level of our freshmen to this point. We’ve got a few guys that have been around the block in this league, four in particular, so hopefully we can play well.”

On the rotation for conference play…

“We’re just not going into it with a preconceived idea or decision. We’ll take it media timeout to media timeout and see how we’re playing. The positive with these guys and this current roster is that we have a lot of options and we’ve got guys that can bring different skillsets and guys that have proven that they will be ready when their name is called.”

On the team’s emphasis in practice since their last game…

“Especially playing on the road in this league and against a disruptive defense on the road like Missouri, valuing the basketball is huge. Live-ball turnovers on the road in this league can haunt you. Our shooting percentages have to go up from 2-point range and from three. We need to find ways to score more efficiently. Of course, our overall offensive numbers have to continue to improve. Generally speaking, rebounding, defensive rebounding especially, but offensive rebounding can help us too with some of those offensive numbers. Our defensive numbers have been pretty good throughout the year. That said, our defensive rebounding numbers have really hurt us. Hopefully we can improve in those areas.”

On having a week between games at the start of conference season…

 “I like to think that we’ve benefitted a little bit, but I’m sure that Missouri feels the same way. So, it will be an exciting day as SEC play kicks off.”

On the program’s NCAA Tournament outlook…

“It’s only a couple months away. It’s right there. It’s go time. It’s right here, it’s right in front of us. We’ve got 18 opportunities, and we’ll see what we can make of them. I think that every team in our league is talking about the NCAA Tournament right now, and the potential is there. Our computer numbers aren’t what we want them to be, but again we’ve got 18 opportunities ahead to see what we can do with them. In order to put ourselves in that position to where potentially where we’re in that conversation in a month and a half, we’ve got to focus on today, we’ve got to focus on tomorrow.”