MBB: Georgia vs. Auburn Preview

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MBB: Georgia vs. Auburn Preview

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Georgia (12-13, 2-10 SEC) vs. No. 13/12 Auburn (22-3, 9-3 SEC)

Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.

 

 

 

 

Watch: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Andy Kennedy, analyst)

Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta. XM: 385; Internet: 975. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)

The Starting Five

 

 

 

 

• Anthony Edwards 474 points is the fourth-most ever by a UGA freshman and is just seven points away from the current No. 3, Litterial Green.

• Tyree Crump has 169 3-pointers, three shy of UGA’s top-10 career leaders in successful shots from behind the arc. The current No. 10 is Jody Patton.

• UGA is just 14,834 fans shy of its total attendance record of 148,700 set last season. The current record should fall vs. Arkansas…with a game to spare.

• Seven of UGA’s nine SEC home games have sold out of reserved seat tickets – Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and Florida.

• Georgia’s celebrated freshman class – ranked among the top-10 groups nationally by every recruiting service – features five of the nation’s top-100 prospects.

Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris

The Opening Tip

Georgia returns to Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night to host No. 13/12 Auburn before a sold-out crowd. The contest became the Bulldogs’ seventh sellout of the season when the last remaining tickets were sold last weekend.

Georgia is 12-13 overall this season, including an impressive 10-4 mark in home outings. The Bulldogs are averaging 81.0 points per game at Stegeman Coliseum and own a +9.8 scoring margin in home dates.

Fan support has been a major contributing factor to the Bulldogs’ success in Athens. Georgia’s average home attendance this season is 9,562, which is on pace to be the second-best tally in program history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03).

And while the Bulldogs will fall just shy of the average attendance record, they will no doubt establish a new total attendance record for the second-consecutive season. 

A year ago, 148,700 fans came through the Stegeman turnstiles to break the previous record by more than 9,000.

Georgia’s total attendance this season is 133,866. That’s 14,834 shy of the current record with three home games left. With a possible ninth 10,000-plus crowd this season at the Auburn game, the Bulldogs are all but certain to set a new record with their Feb. 29 matchup against Arkansas, which is also sold out.

Anthony Edwards, one of only two freshmen included on the 20-player late-season Wooden Award Watch List, is the nation’s top-scoring freshman at 19.0 ppg. The Atlanta native has reached double figures in the scoring column in 21 of 25 games to date, with 11 20-point outings and two 30-point performances.

Game Promotions

The first 1,250 UGA students at Wednesday’s game will receive a free No. 33 replica jersey t-shirt and pizza.

In addition, the ultra-popular “Red Panda” will perform at halftime of the contest.

Keeping An Eye On . . . Entering Today’s Game

Among UGA’s career Leaders Tyree Crump is…

• 3 3FGs from No. 10 Jody Patton

• 11 3FGs from No. 9 Bernard Davis

• 28 3FGAs from No. 7 Dustin Ware.

Among UGA’s Freshman Leaders Anthony Edwards is…

• 7 points from No. 3 Litterial Green

• 42 points from No. 2 Jumaine Jones

• 172 points from No. 1 Jacky Dorsey

Among UGA’s Freshman Leaders Sahvir Wheeler is…

• 24 assists from No. 1 Litterial Green

Series History

Georgia owns a 61-27 advantage in all-time meetings with Auburn in Athens. The Tigers own a slim 96-94 edge in overall meetings between UGA and AU on the hardwood. 

In the most recent matchup at Stegeman Coliseum last Feb. 27, Chuma Okeke’s long 3-pointer with 26 seconds left was the deciding factor in Auburn’s 78-75 win over the Bulldogs.

The Tigers led by as many at 14 points late in the first half before Georgia rallied. The Bulldogs used a 13-0 run in the second period to go up 58-57 with 11:07 left.

Following seven more lead changes and a pair of ties, the Tigers went back on top on Okeke’s 3-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock buzzer sounded. Tyree Crump’s 3-point attempt to force overtime was off the mark as time expired.

Earlier this season on Jan. 11 at Auburn Arena, No. 5 Auburn responded after a quick start by the Bulldogs to earn an 82-60 win.

After Georgia went up 14-6, Auburn surged ahead 18-16 just over four minutes later. 

Following a Rayshaun Hammonds 3-pointer, the Tigers took the lead for good on a pair of free throws at the 5:33 mark of the first half.

Scouting The Tigers

Auburn enters this week’s action at 22-3 overall and 9-3 in the SEC. 

Samir Doughty paces a quartet of double-figure scorers for Auburn at 16.0 ppg. Austin Wiley‘s 10.5 ppg average bookend that group and he also leads the team on the boards at 9.4 RPG.

Freshman Isaac Okoro, who is scoring at a 13.1 ppg clip, suffered a hamstring injury in last week‘s win over Alabama and did not travel to Saturday’s game at Missouri.

 

 

 

 

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Greg is closing in on 15 years writing about and photographing UGA sports. While often wrong and/or out of focus, it has been a long, strange trip full of fun and new friends.