The Georgia Bulldogs (9-6, 1-2) look to defend their home court as the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (12-3, 2-1) visit Athens on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats come into this matchup riding on a two-game win streak after defeating Texas A&M and Vanderbilt at home last week.
On the other side, the Bulldogs are coming off a 15-point defeat at Auburn last Saturday.
Kentucky has a new look to its team this season as its three leading scorers were not with the Wildcats last season.
Although the Wildcats have new personnel on the court this season, freshmen Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, and Ashton Hagans have been solid in the backcourt.
In addition to picking up highly touted freshmen, the Wildcats may have landed their most valuable player via the transfer market. Forward, Reid Travis, transferred from Stanford to Kentucky for his senior season.
Although the Wildcats are more talented than the Bulldogs, Georgia has a chance in this game.
One of the big reasons why is because they are playing at home in front of a sold-out crowd. If the Bulldogs get the fans involved early and keep the crowd engaged with their play, Georgia’s chances will increase drastically.
It is a tall order for Georgia to knock off Kentucky but with quality guard play and dominant frontcourt production, there could be an upset brewing in Athens.
Players to watch for Kentucky
Ashton Hagans
The 6-3 guard and former Georgia pledge returns to his home state in the Wildcats matchup against the Bulldogs.
Hagans has proven to be one of the best defenders in the league and is averaging 2.1 steals per game. Although he hasn’t been filling it up throughout the entire season, Hagans is averaging 15.0 points per game in SEC play.
The reigning SEC freshman of the week could be in for a big night as he faces the most turnover prone team in the conference.
Reid Travis
Listed at 6-8, 240 pounds, Travis has been huge in the frontcourt for the Wildcats.
He is averaging 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season.
Travis will face one of the better frontlines in the SEC on Tuesday night against Georgia. He will need to be physical and keep the Bulldogs off the boards on both ends of the floor.
Travis having a huge game would make the Wildcats efforts of picking up a road win in Athens much easier.
He is coming off two poor offensive performances against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt where was held to six points or less in both games.
Players to watch for Georgia
William “Turtle” Jackson
The 6-4 senior guard has one last chance to defeat Kentucky for the first time in his career.
Jackson burst onto the scene for the Bulldogs in his freshman season against the Wildcats when he hit three triples in the SEC Tournament.
Jackson has had a rough senior campaign but he played his best game of the season against Auburn last Saturday. He had 16 points, five assists, and only had one turnover.
The Bulldogs need Jackson to play solid defense, protect the basketball, and provide effective offensive production if Georgia wants to pull off the upset.
Rayshaun Hammonds
It seems that Georgia’s success against quality opponents has hinged on the performance of Hammonds.
The 6-8 sophomore forward has been streaky recently for the Bulldogs but is still averaging 13.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
He got shut out in Knoxville in Georgia’s embarrassing 46-point defeat to Tennessee. He was again held scoreless in the first half versus Vanderbilt but scored 19 points in the second half to help propel the Bulldogs to their first SEC victory under Tom Crean.
Hammonds is coming off another poor offensive performance against Auburn where he was held to nine points and only made two field goals.
In his freshman season, he had one of his best performances at Rupp Arena where he scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Hammonds is going to need to allow himself second and third chance opportunities and covert on them.
A big night from Hammonds will go a long way if the Bulldogs want to knock off the Wildcats.
Wells’ Prediction
Stegeman Coliseum is going to have a great atmosphere in this highly anticipated matchup.
Nicolas Claxton will have one of his best games of the season and be instrumental in providing energy for the crowd.
Although Georgia has been great at home this season and it is enticing to take the Bulldogs, I am going to predict the Wildcats to take care of business on the road.
Kentucky’s guard play has been superior to the Bulldogs all season and I expect Tyler Herro to get hot from beyond the arc.
Hagans will have a huge night in his return back to the Peach State.
Prediction: Kentucky 81, Georgia 75