In sports, there are times when it is better to show up late than not to show up at all. For Mike White and the Georgia Bulldogs, the timing of them showing up for their best victory of the season could not have been better.
No one outside of the Georgia basketball locker room truly gave the Dawgs much of a chance to beat Florida. Now, White is hoping to use the momentum generated from Georgia’s 88-83 upset victory over No. 3 Florida as a catalyst for a strong finish to their season.
What to Expect
Hoping to capitalize on their newfound momentum after their upset victory over rival Florida this past Tuesday, Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) comes into their matchup against Texas looking for their first SEC road win of the season and the opportunity to pad their stats with intentions of a NCAA tournament at-large bid.
Meanwhile, Texas (16-12, 5-10 SEC) still has postseason aspirations of its own and would love to use a win against Georgia to inch them closer to the 18 victories threshold for NCAA tournament consideration. A loss against Georgia and hopes of reaching 18 wins becomes even more difficult with a date against No. 24 Mississippi State coming up on Tuesday. So, look for Texas to give Georgia its maximum effort to win this contest.
The When, the Where and the How
When: Saturday, March 1st, 8:00 PM, EST
Where: Moody Center, Austin, TX
How to Watch: ESPN2 with Mike Monaco and Daymeon Fishback doing the play-by-play.
Series History
This is not a matchup steeped in tradition. These two institutions have only met twice on the hardwood in their respective histories, with Georgia winning both matchups versus Texas. Their last meeting was on January 26th, 2019, with Georgia winning that contest 98-88.
Top Performers
Georgia: Freshman forward Asa Newell | 15.4 points per game, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 block per game | 55.0 FG%
Texas: Freshman guard Tre Johnson | 20.9 points per game, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game | 44.6 FG%
Injury Report
Georgia: No injuries to report
Texas: Chendall Weaver | G | Questionable - Hip
Texas: Tramon Mark | G | Questionable - Undisclosed
Georgia versus Texas Final Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Favorite: Texas @ -5.5
Moneyline: Georgia +198
Over/Under: 144.5
Current Predictions
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Longhorns a 69.5 percent chance of winning.
The Skinny
Both Georgia and Texas come into this matchup having played 28 games this season.
In conference play, both teams are 5-10, respectively.
Georgia is 0-7 on the road thus far in SEC play, while Texas is 3-4 at home, where the Longhorns have beaten the likes of Missouri, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
Georgia is averaging 75.3 points per contest while Texas averages 78.4 points.
Georgia is 46.2 percent from the field this season, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than Texas has allowed to its opponents (42.4 percent). In comparison, Texas has a field goal percentage of 46.5 percent thus far, which is 5.7 percentage points greater than the 40.8 percent shooting average Georgia has held its opponents.
Watch out for…
Texas freshman guard Tre Johnson leads the SEC in scoring, including an efficient 39 point effort against Arkansas in an 86-81 OT loss on Wednesday.
The Close
Both teams come into this matchup motivated with a lot to play for. For Georgia it is simple, you win out and you are very likely to make the NCAA tournament. For Texas, a loss at home versus Georgia and the chances of making the tournament are all but unlikely. As a result, Texas will give Georgia its best for 40 minutes.
Georgia comes into this contest as the underdog, and that is primarily because of their performance on the road this season. To put it mildly, Georgia has not been good on the road all season, especially in the SEC. At 0-7, the only conference road game Georgia has not lost by double-digits was a disappointing 68-65 defeat to Arkansas. Furthermore, in SEC play this season, Georgia has averaged 60.4 points per game, which is 15 points lower than their overall season average.
For Georgia to win this contest against Texas, they will need to be a significantly better scoring team. Texas freshman Tre Johnson is a phenomenal talent, and given his output and production the likelihood of holding him to anything less than 20 points seems low, but Georgia’s team defense should do all that they can to make those 20 points difficult to come by. Johnson is 44.6 percent from the field this season, Georgia would love to see him in the high 30s today.
Prediction: Texas wins 79-74.