ATHENS — Georgia basketball has lost consecutive games for the first time this season but has a golden opportunity to stop the skid before it begins to threaten March Madness dreams.
The Bulldogs (14-4, 2-3 SEC) are headed west to face a struggling Arkansas team at 9 p.m. Wednesday (TV: SEC Network).
It’s a short break for Georgia in an SEC schedule littered with Top 25 opponents. UGA finally faces its first unranked conference opponent six games into SEC play, ending a program-record five consecutive games against Top 25 teams.
Georgia goes right back into Top 25 action Saturday at No. 5 Florida, making the struggling Razorbacks (11-7, 0-5 SEC) an optimal stopping point for what could easily become a four-game losing streak.
By no means are the Bulldogs expected to run the SEC, a conference with nine teams in the most recent Top 25. But UGA likely needs to avoid losing streaks, perform well at home and take advantage of rare inferior opponents if it wants to survive into March.
Arkansas is off to a rocky start under SEC coaching great John Calipari, tied for last in the conference with two unranked losses last week.
“I probably would have been surprised at this point with really any coach and any program in our league,” White said. “But it can change quickly in a heartbeat. And he’s been there before, he’s going to figure it out.”
The Razorbacks will benefit from the notoriously raucous Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night. Arkansas has proved to be tougher out at home, handling its mid-major opponents and beating No. 21 Michigan 89-87 earlier this season.
Georgia will try to silence the rowdy crowd early and break a second-half habit that has proved fatal in both of its SEC road games. The Bulldogs earned one-possession leads at No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 6 Tennessee before both teams mounted massive runs to start the second half, putting the Bulldogs out of reach for good.
White talked about the challenge on the road after the Tennessee loss last week, previewing No. 1 Auburn’s visit to Athens on Saturday.
“You’ve got to expect it, first and foremost. They’re going to make runs,” White said. “Respond, that’s the word we use a lot. Our guys use it, we use it with each other. We talk about it in timeouts: Expect it, but understand what leads to it, too.”
Georgia responded well several times against the top-ranked Tigers on Saturday. The Bulldogs came back from a 26-9 first-half deficit before closing several 10-point disadvantages in the second half.
Auburn appeared to have the win secured with 41 seconds left, taking a 69-60 lead on two free throws. But the Bulldogs bit back again, closing the Tigers' lead to 70-68 before a last-second, potential game-tying tip-in bounced off the front of the rim.
Some of Stegeman Coliseum’s sellout crowd even cheered the Bulldogs off the court, simply happy their basketball team was finally showing the kind of fight against elite competition that had not existed in recent years.
It’s the same kind of fight White’s team needs to win its first SEC road game this season. The Bulldogs will look to 6-foot-11 freshmen Asa Newell and Somto Cyril to stop Arkansas’ leading scorer and rebounder, Adou Thiero.
Newell also will try to lead the Bulldogs in scoring for the sixth consecutive game.
Georgia is 17-27 all-time against Arkansas. The Bulldogs have not won at Bud Walton Arena since 2011.
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