Second place in the SEC East is on the line as the 18th ranked Vanderbilt Commodores travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. A win for Georgia would go a long way toward solidifying their NCAA Tournament resume, while the Commodores are looking for their second SEC road win in a traditionally-difficult-for-them venue in Stegeman Coliseum. These two teams seem to produce consistently close contests, at least over the last five seasons or so.
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Schedule Breakdown
According to good ol' Kenpom, Vanderbilt has played the 41st-most difficult schedule to date. Georgia's SOS is ranked 58th. Based on performances to date, Vanderbilt will be the fourth best offense and 11th best defense that the Bulldogs will have played. Georgia will be the eleventh best offense and ninth best defense that the Commodores will have played.
Vanderbilt won the earlier matchup in Nashville 73-66. That game featured this feat of strength and athleticism, among others.
Statistical Breakdown
Based on the tempo free statistics in the chart above, Vanderbilt has a slim personnel advantage of the Bulldogs. Keep in mind that these statistics are not adjusted for the strength of the opponent, though that factor may be minor in this case.
Four Factors: Vanderbilt has large advantages in eFG% and FTRate. Georgia has a strong edge in OReb% and a very slim edge in TO%. Prediction: Vanderbilt wins eFG% and FTRate. Georgia wins OReb% and TO%.
Traditional Statistics - Georgia Bulldogs
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Tipoff is scheduled for 1800 CT and the game will be televised by ESPNU (Comcast ch. 285 HD), though the game will also be available on ESPN3.com. Our open gamethread will go live about an hour before tipoff. Also, don't forget to head over to Stat-King to submit your predictions for the game.