5 things to know about the Georgia Bulldogs

1. Sahvir Wheeler

One of the best true point guards in the Southeastern Conference, Georgia’s Sahvir Wheeler is the focus of the offensive attack for the Bulldogs. Georgia is a team that loves to play fast to attack the rim on the break, and Wheeler is the one facilitating that high pace. Wheeler leads the SEC and is fifth in the country at 7.4 assists per game. He’s also one of the top scorers for Georgia at 14.5 points per game, to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals, which is third in the conference. The Houston, Texas native shoots just 28.2% from three, but still takes over 3 of them per game, so he’s not afraid to shoot it if left open.

The sophomore stands at just 5’10” and 180 pounds, and there is hope that Kentucky’s length will cause issues for him, the way it did for Auburn’s Sharife Cooper. Being the primary ball-handler for Georgia does come with the consequences of a high turnover rate. Unfortunately for Wheeler, the consequence is leading both the SEC and the nation in turnovers per game at an even 5 per contest. As a whole, Georgia turns it over 17.3 times per game which ranks 344th in the country, nearly 70 spots below Kentucky, which has been labeled an extremely turnover prone team.

2. New to the lineup

Similar to Kentucky’s last opponent, who had a solid freshman guard cleared to play just in time for SEC play, Georgia freshman K.D. Johnson was ruled eligible just a week ago has played in just the last two games for the Bulldogs. A four-star and top-100 prospect out of Atlanta, Georgia, Johnson’s first two games on the floor have been a welcome addition to Tom Crean’s lineup. While the Bulldogs are just 1-1 in the two games since Johnson’s return, his stats have been overwhelmingly positive. Through two games, Johnson is averaging 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 steals per game.

Johnson has made 6 of the 9 threes he has attempted in his first two games and is just 1 of 3 at the free throw line. His debut came in a loss against Auburn, but he shined bright, finishing with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks in 29 minutes off the bench. He followed that up with a winning effort over Ole Miss, playing 22 minutes and putting up 14 points on four made threes. Johnson gives the Bulldogs an extra offensive weapon on the outside and is a great outlet for Wheeler’s drive and kick efforts.

3. Where’s the size?

If one thing has been made clear in Kentucky’s struggles this season, it would be the stark difference between the way Kentucky’s lineup is constructed in comparison to other teams’ rosters. Kentucky has a lot of size and length, but not a lot of shooting, whereas a lot of other teams may not have the size to match up with Kentucky, but they’ve loaded up on offensive threats and guards to space the floor. Georgia’s roster is no different than some of Kentucky’s recent opponents, in that the size factor isn’t necessarily a focus.

Tom Crean’s roster will be one of the smaller rotations that John Calipari and staff have game planned for all season. There isn’t a player on the roster who is taller than 6’9″ and the tallest player in the starting lineup is 6’8″-220 pound Toumani Camara. Camara is a solid big for Georgia, averaging 14 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds in almost 29 minutes per game. However, Camara is the only player over 6’6″ who plays a real contributing role on the team. A few other forwards measure in at 6’8″ or 6’9″, but none of them play more than eight minutes on average. There’s definitely an opportunity to dominate the paint and the glass today for Kentucky if they impose their will.

4. Schedule so far

When looking at Georgia’s schedule so far this season, you see that the first half, the non-conference half, was met with success. The Bulldogs ran off seven straight wins to start the season, taking an undefeated record into SEC play. Unfortunately for Georgia, that 7-0 record comes with the caveat of who the wins were against. Georgia had the 222nd ranked non-conference strength of schedule this season. That’s not to say that their seven wins were fraudulent, because wins are wins and accumulating a lot of them is great come tournament time. However, when your best non-conference win is now 3-7 Cincinnati, the record doesn’t hold as much weight to it.

The problems don’t stop there when looking at the Georgia schedule, as Tom Crean’s team dropped their first four games in conference play before finally picking up an SEC win this past Saturday at Ole Miss. Of the four game losing streak, three were by double digits and one of those three was by 30 points. Now sitting at 8-4 overall, the Bulldogs have some work to do moving forward to make some SEC noise or to be dancing in March. A win over a Kentucky team with a losing record won’t exactly bolster that résumé, but a loss would be detrimental to the cause.

5. Looking for 15 in a row

During Coach Cal’s tenure at Kentucky, the Wildcats have all but dominated a lot of SEC teams on an overall scale. The Cats even took a number of SEC winning streaks into this season, some of which they’ve already added to. Tonight’s game will be no different for Kentucky, as the Cats will be looking for their 15th straight win over the Georgia Bulldogs. Cal has only lost twice to Georgia, giving him a 19-2 record overall. The only two losses have come at Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum.

The overall series swings strongly in favor of Kentucky, leading the Bulldogs 129-26. Tonight’s game is a bit different than some match ups in the past, as it will be only the third time in John Calipari’s time as Kentucky’s Head Coach that the Cats won’t be ranked when facing off against Georgia. Kentucky is 1-1 in those unranked games against Georgia. The Bulldogs now sit as a 4-point underdog going into tonight’s game.

Go Cats. Beat Bulldogs.

@BrettBibbinsKSR