ATHENS – Georgia basketball has raised eyebrows with some impressive wins this season, but none would compare to a win on Saturday.
The No. 23-ranked Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2 SEC) host No. 1 Auburn at 1 p.m. (TV: SEC Network) looking to shock the country with another top-10 upset.
UGA has proven itself capable of taking down SEC powerhouses, toppling No. 8 Kentucky in its SEC home opener last Tuesday. The Bulldogs also grappled with No. 6 Tennessee for 20 minutes before the Volunteers pulled away in Knoxville on Wednesday.
The top-ranked Tigers (16-1, 4-0) present a different challenge, though. Longtime SEC great Bruce Pearl coaches an explosive offensive squad that leads the SEC in shooting percentage (50.9%) and point differential (20.6).
Auburn’s only loss came on Dec. 5 at No. 3 Duke. The Tigers have not been challenged much in away games since, as Georgia will be their first road game against a ranked opponent since facing the Blue Devils.
The Tigers have not looked as dominant in their first two SEC road games, beating SEC bottom feeders Texas and South Carolina by a combined eight points.
Stegeman Coliseum is no easy road win, either.
Georgia will try to extend its home winning streak to 14 games, the fourth-longest streak in school history. Mike White’s Bulldogs have beaten a ranked Auburn team at home before, topping the No. 22 Tigers in their 2023 SEC opener.
“The crowd can make or break a game,” UGA guard Tyrin Lawrence said. “I came here not last year, but the year before. The crowd was definitely not how it is now, so just being here now, thankful that we have it. We feed off of it.”
Georgia is facing Auburn at a somewhat fortunate time, as the Tigers will be without superstar Johni Broome. The SEC’s rebound and block leader is expected to miss several weeks with an ankle injury sustained last Saturday.
Auburn didn’t seem to miss Broome in their first full game without him, though, beating No. 15 Mississippi State 88-66 on Tuesday.
“They were a little bit different the other day, I thought they were fantastic,” White said. “They’ve still got a really, really good team. They’re capable of beating everybody in the country.”
Auburn closes what will likely be the toughest week Georgia had all season, with both UGA opponents being SEC powerhouses in the top 10.
The Bulldogs’ 19 turnovers against Tennessee undid any upset chances on Wednesday, especially once the Volunteers offense found its footing in the second half. White has mentioned his team’s assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02) as one of his main concerns in the past.
The 10-year SEC coach followed on Friday with several fixes for the ball-control issues.
“Some of it is personnel, some of it is scheme, some of it is what we’re stressing, the defenses we’re playing,” White said. “You want your guys to play downhill and play with instinct, confidence. We didn’t do a lot of that the other day, and Tennessee had a lot to do with that.”
Like Tennessee, Auburn has the ability to score in bunches. Active defense followed by offensive rebounding and elite 3-point shooters lead to quick turnarounds by the Tigers.
White knows his team can’t fully stop an Auburn run, but is focused on preparing his team for how to react.
“We’ve got to expect it, first and foremost,” 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 is 97-102 against Auburn all-time. The Bulldogs are 7.5-point underdogs, according to VegasInsider.
