Anchor Of Gold: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Voodoo Five for South Florida Bulls Fans!

The SEC's Worst Losses: Georgia

Jeff Taylor had a weak game against Mississippi State, but the Commodores are going to need him to lead a balanced attack versus Georgia. (AP Photo/Frederick Breedon)

More photos » Frederick Breedon - AP

Jeff Taylor had a weak game against Mississippi State, but the Commodores are going to need him to lead a balanced attack versus Georgia. (AP Photo/Frederick Breedon)

The Mississippi State match-up was an adventure. Only one player scored for the Commodores in the last three minutes of the game, and it was a pair of free throws from our huevos-grande freshman John Jenkins. I'm sure Coach Kevin Stallings ripped the team up post-game, as their late game lull appeared to be disturbingly similar to the team's early season first half problems. They'll need to head to Athens fired up in what looks like a big-time trap game against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia's record is misleading; they're better than a 9-11 team, but maybe not as underrated as some knowledgeable sources suggest. The Bulldogs have been marred by inconsistency. For the most part, they've been unable to beat opponents from high-major conferences, but have mixed in victories over Illinois, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee between close losses to teams like Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State. Saturday's game presents a dangerous trap game, and past results indicate that this one will probably go down to the wire.

Georgia (9-11, AP NR, Coaches NR)

Worst Loss: vs. Wofford (RPI #103KenPom #10857-60

Other Losses: at Kentucky, at UAB, vs. Mississippi, at Missouri, at Florida, at South Carolina, at Mississippi State, at Virginia Tech, at St. Johns, vs. Arkansas

Georgia's (RPI #105KenPom #90) road schedule has been brutal - the team has had eight games against RPI Top 100 teams and has lost all of them. In Athens, the team is 9-3, with wins over three teams in the Top 80, but the Bulldogs have yet to win any road games this season. Unfortunately, Vandy gets the Bulldogs at home and in the middle of a losing streak - the same scenario that Tennessee had when they were upset two weeks ago.

Despite their record, Georgia lacks a truly terrible loss. Despite lacking name value, Wofford falls just outside of the Top 100 in the RPI and has even beaten UK-toppler South Carolina. A four point loss to Arkansas at home, as well as a 10-point loss to St. John's were also considered for evaluation. In the long run, the early-season upset to a mid-major school stuck out as the biggest disappointment of the season so far.

 

Star-divide

Key to destruction: Against Georgia, Wofford jumped out to an early 19-8 lead, and held off a Bulldog comeback on their way to victory. Each time Georgia pulled close, the Terriers responded on the next possession with big plays - three pointers, layups plus fouls, and long jumpers. They held the Bulldogs off by destroying their momentum and not allowing them to string together points - the exact opposite of what nearly killed the Commodores vs. Mississippi State.

Anytime Georgia threatened to take the lead, Wofford came up big offensively. Even though the team shot poorly for the night (38.2%), they made the most out of the baskets they got. The Bulldogs displayed some alligator blood by never letting the game get out of reach, but every time they came up with a big play, Wofford matched it. Even in the last two minutes of the game, it seemed as though Wofford couldn't come up with any offense unless Georgia struck first.

Aside from this, the Bulldogs were the better team in almost every other statistical category that night. Trey Thompkins put up a dominant double-double (14 points, 16 rebounds), and Travis Leslie scored 17 points on 11 shots - but no one else for Georgia scored in double digits. Conversely, Wofford's top four scorers chipped in over 10 points apiece in a low scoring game, and two of them came off the bench to do so. While Thompkins and Leslie are top tier sophomores in the SEC, the rest of the Bulldog squad is struggling to keep up with them. They combined for 40 points in the team's upset against Tennessee, and shot a crisp 17-24 in the game. Stopping this duo will be paramount for the Commodores, as will responding with a balanced attack.

Keys to the game:

Crush Georgia's momentum with run-breaking shots - anytime Georgia had a chance to take the lead, Wofford broke them down with a big play. It kept the crowd at bay (Peanut butter kid had no comment) and deflated the Bulldogs' performance on the court.

Focus the defense around Thompkins and Leslie - Georgia has a starting sophomore duo that produces more than our own, and they've come up big in UGA's upset wins. Fortunately for Vanderbilt, the team's production drops off after these two. Making guys like Ricky McPhee and Dustin Ware carry the load on offense will take a big toll on the home team.

Counter Georgia's two-headed monster with a balanced attack - Wofford won with scoring coming from all over. This plays to Vanderbilt's advantages in depth and overall talent. A.J. Ogilvy, Jermaine Beal, and Jeffery Taylor will all get their points, but spreading the attack out to include Andre Walker, Brad Tinsley, and John Jenkins will give the Bulldogs fits. If Vandy has four or more players scoring more than 12 points Saturday, it's tough to see a way that Georgia wins this one.

0 recs  |  Comment 0 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Around SB Nation

Gunner Draft Results - Day One

Mar 2010 from Big 12 Hoops - 0 comments

Vandy Falls at the Buzzer

Mar 2010 from Team Speed Kills - 3 comments

Gunner Draft 2010 Results

Mar 2010 from Big 12 Hoops - 5 comments

USF-NC State Haiku

Mar 2010 from Voodoo Five - 0 comments

EPIC FAIL

Mar 2010 from Voodoo Five - 0 comments

Comments

Display:

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to the SB Nation community built for your Vanderbilt Commodores.
Start posting about the Commodores »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Dsc00041_small
If you're making the trip to the Yay Area...
Father_small
Definitive Bracket
Small
Vandy Baseball Rankings
Small
SEC COY V2.0
Father_small
SEC Dance Tracker
Father_small
SEC in the Rankings
Small
SEC Coach of the Year
Rolling_stones_mouth_grey_small
What to do in Nashville?
Star_small
U-G-L-Y = UK @ VU
Dawid_przybyszewski_small
Vandy Students Ready to Dominate

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Vanderbilt / SEC Highlights

25 - 11

Conference

12 - 4

Lost 4

Twitter

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Wisconsin's Jon Leuer (30) drives to the basket as Wofford's Terry Martin (50) defends during an NCAA first-round college basketball game in Jacksonville, Fla., Friday, March 19, 2010.  (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Wisconsin Escapes Wofford 53-49; Terriers' First-Ever Tournament Appearance Ends

Cornell star Louis Dale celebrates a Big Red victory (Courtesy Getty Images)

NCAA Tournament: Cornell Lives Up To Hype, Wins Easily Over Temple, 78-65

t +1 updates

NCAA Tournament: Jordan Crawford's 28 Points Help Xavier Drop Minnesota

More from SBNation.com >


Admiral of the Fleet

Vanderbilt_small KingJamesIV

Official Partner of CBS Sports