Welcome to the Bulldawg Illustrated Hoops Report. It’s like a three martini lunch that turns into a twelve beer day. We’ve been able to watch Dawgs throttle their last their two opponents. Both very close in proximity and familiarity, but not in score. The first was Tek and the most recent Clemson. Neither foe ever really had a chance. The Dawgs beat the Nerds by 14 and the #$%!@#, I mean Kittens, by 23. The games should’ve been by 20 and 30 respectively but we missed some opportunities at the FT line vs Slide Rule U and gave up too many offensive rebounds against the Orange Fungus. And for all of you Dawgs Hoops “fans” who have been complaining about the Dawgs being so bad because they’ve not played anyone this year and lost to a mid major, please go to ESPN’s RPI standings. The Dawgs are ranked 1st in strength of schedule and 25th in RPI. Remember, as we’ve said here a million times, when talking about UGA Hoops it’s best to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re stupid than open it up and remove all doubt. But I digress….Up next, Robert Morris.

 
The Dawgs will take a much needed trip to the bakery as a cupcake is getting served up on a silver platter. The Dawgs are an 18 point favorite in Vegas and 17 1/2 in the Virgin Islands. It should be more. From the opening tip, the Dawgs need to pound the glass, hit their FTs, and get the W so they can prep for the Mighty Gators on Saturday night at 8 pm for some Dawg Day Double Dipping. We’ll start that morning at 8 am. Drink, Eat, then Dawgs at noon. Repeat at 5 pm for Dawgs at 8 pm on ESPNU. But before we get to SEC play, let’s review last week and preview Robert Morris.
 
Clemson rolled into town last Tuesday with Georgia on their mind. However, the only thing on their mind when they left was Deliverance after they ordeal they had. The Dawgs took a 15 point lead into the half and it only got bigger in the second. Believe or not, the 23 point difference made the game look closer than it really was. All-SEC First Teamers Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines led the way with 18 and 17 point respectively. Mann was an impressive 8-8 from the FT line. As I’m sure you know, Mann’s kryptonite is the FT line. For the Dawgs to succeed this year, one of the main ingredients will be for Mann to shoot over 70% from the stripe. After his 8-8 performance, he’s at 71%. The only thing that was a little discouraging was that we got out rebounded on the offensive boards 18-8. Usually that gets you beat. On Tuesday, it merely made the outcome 23 instead of 38.
 
Up next, Robert Morris. They’re not good. The school has an enrollment of 4000 kids. I bet they still have more good looking girls than Tek. While they do have a lot of shooters on their team, their problem is they don’t have many scorers. Rodney Pryor accounts for 33% of their scoring and 21% of their rebounds. So just stop that guy would be my advice. Outside of that, there’s nothing to really say. They’re 2-10 against a mediocre schedule. We need to throttle them early and never let them come up for air. This is a game where you want to win and get out with everyone healthy so you can turn your focus to SEC play.
 
The Dawgs sit at 6-3. In our season preview, we said the Dawgs would win 7 or 8 out-of-conference games. That will be correct as we still have a late January match-up at Baylor. Second, we said the Dawgs would wind up with 18 to 19 wins at season’s end. Well, there’s good news and bad news there. First, the bad news. We predicted the Lamecocks and Awburn would be the most improved teams in the league. While that prediction looks great now, it may end up being Alabama. So that’s just more competition in the SEC to worry about. The good news is this is the best top to bottom team Fox has had at UGA and their getting better every game. Our four studs are as solid as any team in the conference. Once you get past them, you have six guys that will contribute. So we’re ten deep. As we’ve said before, the way to get better is practice against solid competition. For the first time in the Mark Fox era, we have a second unit that can make the first better, and vice versa. This means this team should keep getting better as the season progresses. Plus, we’re not relying on our talented freshmen to win games. They just need to give us some quality minutes. To date, that has worked. What we need to do now is dispose of Robert Morris in a timely manner. To do that we need you, the students, and Red Sweater Guy to show-up and throw-up! You’re arms that is. Head on out to The Steg. Go Dawgs!!