Georgia will officially tip off the Tom Crean era on Friday night as it hosts Savannah State.
The Bulldogs went 2-0 in exhibition action by picking up a 56-54 win over UAB and a 98-59 victory over West Georgia.
Meanwhile, Savannah State has already faced SEC competition, as it lost 98-83 at Texas A&M earlier in the week.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this game.
Game Details
- Savannah State (0-1) at Georgia (0-0)
- Location: Stegeman Coliseum – Athens, GA
- Game Date: Nov. 9
- Game Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network+
Players to Watch
Nicolas Claxton (Georgia)
Standing at 6-11, Claxton is a hard player to miss when he’s on the court.
But he brings more than just natural size to the table, as the sophomore has started to hone his skills on both sides of the court.
He had 14 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks in 22 minutes against West Georgia, and he will undoubtedly be a valuable asset for Crean and company this season.
Tyree Crump (Georgia)
If the Bulldogs want to rise up the SEC ladder this season, they’re going to need consistent contributions from Crump.
The 6-1 junior has better outside shooting ability than most players on this team, but he could never find a rhythm last season in making 34.9 percent of his field-goal attempts.
While it was only an exhibition, he did go 6 of 10 from beyond the arc against West Georgia, so perhaps that will serve as a nice confidence booster heading into the new campaign.
Collins Joseph (Savannah State)
In the wide-open offensive that Horace Broadnax runs where every single player is pretty much free to shoot it, you never know who is going to lead the Tigers in scoring.
Joseph, a 6-0 freshman, was the leader against the Aggies in scoring 20 points off the bench while going 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
He may not hit that scoring output against Georgia, but at least he’s already proven his ability to be effective in the catch and shoot offense.
Key Stats
Speaking of that high-octane offense, Savannah State put up 54 3-point attempts in the loss to Texas A&M, making 17 of those shots.
With an average possession length of 10.7 seconds in that game, we know that the Tigers are going to put up shots in a hurry.
Of course, we also know that they’re going to be very susceptible to being scored on and outrebounded on the other side of the court.
The Aggies shot 67.4 percent from 2-point range and grabbed a whopping 23 offensive rebounds in Wednesday’s game.
Those numbers could allow Georgia to take advantage with players like Claxton and 6-9 senior Derek Ogbeidge manning the lane.
Game Outlook
- Spread: Georgia -24
- Over/Under: 162
- KenPom Projection: Georgia, 98 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Georgia 94.3 percent chance to win
I predicted that the Texas A&M/Savannah State game would be closer than expected due to the Tigers’ ability to put up points in a hurry.
Because Brodnax’s team takes so many 3-pointers, they can catch up quickly if they get down big, and that can present some challenges if they get on a roll.
Georgia was a terrible 3-point shooting team last season (322nd nationally at 31.8 percent), so it may not be wise to turn this into an outside shooting contest on both sides.
But just like the Aggies did, the Bulldogs should be able to attack the glass and earn plenty of second-chance opportunities in giving Crean a win in his first game at the school.
Prediction: Georgia 88, Savannah State 74
For more SEC basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter @theblakelovell.