The Georgia men’s basketball team will host the Alabama Crimson Tide on today (Saturday) for a 12 Noon tipoff at the Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Georgia Men’s Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (10-3, 1-1) vs. Alabama (9-5, 1-1)
Saturday, January 6, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
RADIO:
Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Stations: WSB AM 750 Atlanta, Sirius: 145; XM, 190
(Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer)
CLICK HERE to listen to free audio stream at Georgiadogs.com.
TV & LIVE STREAM:
Channel: SEC Network
(Matt Stewart, play-by-play; Antoine, analyst)
CLICK HERE to watch via livestream on SEC Network+/Watch ESPN.
Live Stats:
CLICK HERE to follow live stats online.
The Georgia Bulldogs host the Alabama Crimson Tide in a noon matinée on Saturday, the first of two matchups between the two schools in a three-day span.
And while the basketball contest may not carry the weight of Monday’s College Football Playoff Championship game in Atlanta, it does have distinct postseason implications.
The Bulldogs and the Tide are among a slew of SEC teams with serious NCAA Tournament aspirations. And those hopes are well warranted. The league is extremely well represented in the NCAA’s RPI. Through mid-week action, no less than six SEC teams were included in the top-25 of the RPI. Another five are featured in the top-65, including Alabama at No. 39 and Georgia at No. 50.
Georgia is 10-3 on the year – including a perfect 7-0 mark at Stegeman Coliseum – and 1-1 in the SEC. UGA’s win total includes Ws over a trio of 2017 NCAA Tournament teams – No. 21 Saint Mary’s, Marquette and Winthrop.
Yante Maten, a National Player of the Year candidate and preseason SEC Player of the Year honoree, leads Georgia with averages of 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Those efforts ranks second and first, respectively, among league leaders.
Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs since the beginning of his sophomore year. Over the 76 games during that span, Maten has produced 69 double-digit scoring performances, with 28 20-point and five 30-point outings and 21 double-doubles.
Turtle Jackson provides a second a double-figure scoring average at 10.8 ppg. Jackson entered the season with two double-digit productions in 66 games but has scored 10-plus points in nine of Georgia’s first 13 outings. He also upped his career high four times in the first five games, from 10 points entering the season to 11 to 13 to 15 to 17 points against San Diego State.
Alabama is 9-5 overall and 1-1 in the SEC.
Freshman Collin Sexton leads both the Tide and the league in scoring at 20.4 ppg. All told, four Alabama starters are scoring at a double-digit pace, with John Petty chipping in 12.5 ppg, Donta Hall adding 11.7 ppg and Dazon Ingram contributing 11.1 ppg.
Series History: UGA vs. Alabama
Alabama leads the overall series, 94-51; however, that margin is a much tighter 32-30 advantage here in Athens. Georgia has won four of the last five meetings.
The Bulldogs and the Tide met twice last season, with the road team winning each time. Most recently, on Feb. 23 in Tuscaloosa, J.J. Frazier scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half as Georgia took down the Tide, 60-55.
That contest was that Bulldogs’ first outing since leading scorer Yante Maten suffered a knee sprain just 95 seconds into Georgia’s outing with No. 13 Kentucky five days earlier.
“We have great character on this team, and it showed today,” Mark Fox said, “Obviously, we had a very difficult loss at home versus Kentucky, and lost Yante, but we got together and decided that there will be a solution. We figured out a couple of new wrinkles and maybe a new rotation to try and patch it together, and they bought in and competed their tails off tonight.”
The Bulldogs grabbed a lead at the 18:25 mark in the first half they never surrendered.
A 15-4 run by Alabama early in the second stanza cut a 12-point margin to two, but consecutive 3-pointers by Tyree Crump on got the lead back to six. Though the Tide pulled within a single possession numerous times, the Bulldogs withstood each rally.
A Frazier free throw with 29 seconds to go put Georgia up by four, and Juwan Parker hit one from the charity stripe with four seconds left to seal the victory.
Last Jan. 25 at Stegeman Coliseum, Yante Maten scored 20 points as Georgia dropped an 80-60 decision to the Tide.
The Bulldogs trailed 41-27 at the half, and Alabama jumped out to 54-34 lead with 14:25 left. Georgia was then able to hold the Tide to just two field goals until under a minute to go, but was unable to cut the lead to less than 10.
Full Game Notes for Georgia vs. Alabama
CLICK HERE for the full Georgia vs. Alabama men’s basketball game notes.