UGA Returns Home to Face No. 24 Alabama

GA’s Athens The Georgia Bulldogs will take on the now-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at 6:30 p.m. EST tonight when they return home. With a 4-3 conference record and a 14-6 overall record, the Dawgs are currently tied for fourth place in the SEC. With a 6-1 conference record and a 14-6 overall record, Alabama leads the conference. They are favored by -5.5.

Junior guard R.J. Melendez led the Dawgs with a career-high 35 points in their most recent game on Saturday at Gainesville against Florida, helping to orchestrate a 21-point rally that forced overtime. But over the next five minutes, the Gators would outscore Georgia 7–13, and Georgia would lose. Georgia head coach Mike White responded to questions regarding Melendez’s play this season by saying, “He’s really settled in offensively” and “he’s as confident as he’s played.

The Dawgs are scoring 77.3 points per game on the season, but they are scoring 80.9 points per game when they play in the SEC. This endeavor is

headed by senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who scores 13.4 points per game on average overall and

13.9 points per game in SEC competition. Abdur-Rahim’s shooting percentages of 40% from beyond the arc, 38.2% from field goal range, and 87.1% at the free throw line are responsible for this. Abdur-Rahim and graduate student guards Noah Thomasson (11.9) and Melendez (11.1) are the other two bulldogs who have averaged double digits for the entire season. Georgia’s offensive attack has also greatly benefited from the bench play of the team. With non-starters scoring 31.4 points per game on average, UGA comes into this week rated No. 15 in the country for bench scoring. With 3.7 assists per game this season, senior Justin Hill leads the Dawgs in assists and scores 10.4 points (9.2 points total) in SEC play.

Russell Tchewa, a graduate student center, scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the Florida game to achieve his second consecutive double-double. Tchewa leads the Dawgs in average rebounds per game with 6.8, demonstrating his consistency as a defensive threat. With 4.4 rebounds, Melendez trails Tchewa in the scoring department. Demary Jr. is next with 4.3 rebounds.

The Dawgs had only 27 rebounds at the end of the game, compared to their previous average of 37.4 rebounds per game prior to playing Florida. “We really struggled defensively in two of the previous three at Florida and at Kentucky,” White responded when questioned about their defensive effort against the Gators. The Dawgs are searching for “transition urgency, blockouts, hits, defensive rebounds, and simply finishing possessions” in the Alabama game, according to White.

On January 20, the Tide suffered their only SEC defeat at the hands of No. 5 Tennessee, losing by a score of 20 points (71-91). More recently, Alabama defeated LSU on Saturday after defeating No. 8 Auburn a week earlier. Ryan Sears, a 6’1″ senior guard for the Tide, scored over 20 points in both games—22 and 21, respectively. At 20 points per game on average, Sears leads both Alabama and the SEC in scoring. He shoots 52.0% from field goal range and 43.7% from beyond the arc.

Within the SEC In addition, Sears holds the fifth-best ranking in field goal percentage, sixth-best in 3-pointers made per game, seventh-best in free throw percentage, seventh-best in assists, and tenth-best in steals.

Three more players from Alabama average more than ten points per game: sophomore guard Rylan Griffen (10.7 ppg), senior forward Grand Nelson (12.2 ppg), and senior guard Aaron Estrada (12.9 ppg). At 4.0 assists per game on average, Estrada leads the Tide in assists; Sears is second with 3.9 assists per game.

Nelson leads the Tide in defensive rebounds per game with 6.0, followed by Estrada with 5.1. Nick Pringle, a senior forward, is third among the Tide’s rebounders with 4.1 per contest. Alabama is pulling down 39.8 boards per game overall, which is 2.9 more than the Dawgs’ average of 36.9 rebounds per game.

The Dawgs will play their fourth game against a ranked opponent when they take on Alabama, and they will have a chance to win their first game in the top 25. A ranking victory would be beneficial for the Dawgs’ chances of qualifying for the March tournament, as well as for their confidence and momentum going forward.