With SEC and NCAA Tournament ramifications on the line, this Senior Day regular season finale in Athens comes with some uncommon drama for Georgia basketball. What more could you ask for?
For senior guards and Georgia natives Dakota Leffew and Tyrin Lawrence, it is an opportunity to finish their respective collegiate regular season careers on top, in front of a home crowd and move Georgia basketball decisively closer to their first NCAA Tournament at-large bid since 2015.
But for Lawrence, the reward can be even greater. Prior to his arrival to Athens, Lawrence spent the previous four years at Vanderbilt, where he showed incremental growth as a basketball player every year. The opportunity for Lawrence to beat his former team in his final collegiate regular season game is enough drama to fill Stegeman Coliseum.
As for Georgia (19-11, 7-10 SEC), there is a tremendous amount at stake in this contest. First, a victory on Saturday gives them 20 for the season, which would be a huge accomplishment for Mike White and his young Bulldogs. Secondly, it will position them as the 10th seed (if Arkansas loses to Mississippi State) in the upcoming SEC Tournament. Lastly, a win against the Commodores (20-10, 9-8) will definitively solidify Georgia an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament.
But before the game begins, here is all the information you need for this high-drama SEC season finale matchup.
The When, the Where and the How
When: Saturday, March 8th, 12:00 PM, EST
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, GA
How to Watch: ESPNU (Mike Morgan, Mike Wise)
How to Listen: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie).
Series History
This will be the 151st meeting on the hardwood for these two institutions with Vanderbilt owning the upper hand with an overall 95-55 lead over Georgia in head-to-head matchups all-time. Georgia won the last meeting with a 76-64 victory in Nashville back on February 21, 2024.
Top Performers
Georgia: Freshman forward Asa Newell | 15.1 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 1.0 block per game | 54.2 FG%
Vanderbilt: Junior guard Jason Edwards | 16.7 points per game, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game | 42.7 FG%
Injury Report
Georgia: No injuries to report
Vanderbilt: MJ Collins | G | Questionable - Undisclosed
Vanderbilt: Grant Huffman | G | Doubtful - Undisclosed
Vanderbilt: Alex Hemenway | G | Out - Undisclosed
Georgia versus Vanderbilt Final Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Favorite: Georgia @ -5.5
Moneyline: Georgia -225
Over/Under: 148.5
Current Predictions
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Georgia a 71.8% chance of winning.
The Skinny
In the season finale, the winner of this game will own the 10th spot in the SEC standings.
In SEC play thus far this season, Georgia is 5-3 at home, while Vanderbilt is 2-6 on the road, but it is worth nothing that the Commodores had won three consecutive games against ranked opponents before losing their last contest against Arkansas.
Georgia is 12th in the SEC in team scoring at 75.5 points per contest, while Vanderbilt ranks 6th in the conference with 80.3 points per game.
Georgia is 46.5 percent from the field this season, which is 0.5 percentage points higher than Vanderbilt has allowed to its opponents (46.0 percent). In comparison, Vanderbilt has a field goal percentage of 45.4 percent thus far, which is 4.6 percentage points more than the 40.8 percent shooting average Georgia has held its opponents.
Vanderbilt owns the second worst field goal percentage differential in the SEC at -0.6, which means they average a lower shooting percentage than their opponent on a per game basis. By contrast, Georgia ranks fifth in the SEC in field goal percentage differential at +5.6.
Watch out for…
Watch out for Vanderbilt junior guard Tyler Nickel, who has led Vanderbilt in scoring two of their last three games, averaging 16.3 points in each of those contests, including a career-best seven 3-pointers in Vanderbilt’s 86-84 upset of No. 12 Texas A&M back on February 26, 2025.
The Close
Georgia senior guards Leffew and Lawrence have been remarkable additions to Georgia basketball in the 2024-2025 season. It is without question that Georgia would not be on the verge of an NCAA Tournament bid if not for their respective contributions.
As for Vanderbilt, they have postseason aspirations of their own and come into this contest winners of three of their last four games, with all three of those victories coming against ranked SEC opponents. So make no mistake about it, Vanderbilt has no interest in seeing Georgia end their regular season on a high note.
The Commodores will want this one just as much as Georgia.
Stegeman is going to have to rock for 40 minutes.
This one will be a shootout.
Prediction: Georgia wins 87-81.