Tigers host No. 18 Bulldogs
From a physical standpoint, it appears that the LSU basketball team matches up very well with the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tigers and the Bulldogs both rely heavily on perimeter players and have a lack of height beneath the basket.
However, on the court, the Tigers do not match up very well with UGA according to head coach John Brady.
“[Georgia is] extremely talented,” he said. “They’re going to be a real difficult match-up for us because they can really score the ball.”
Possibly needing only one more win to earn a National Invitation Tournament berth, LSU (14-12, 4-9 Southeastern Conference) will try to slow down the Bulldogs (19-7, 8-5 SEC) Saturday at 3 p.m. in the PMAC.
LSU had its two-game winning streak stopped Wednesday night when it lost at South Carolina, 66-53.
Georgia has not played since last Saturday when it beat Kentucky, 78-69 at UGA.
“They’re as good as anybody in the league,” Brady said. “The fortunate thing is at least we’re playing them at home.”
Ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll, the Bulldogs began the year as one of the hottest teams in the country with a 16-3 start. However, over the last month, the Bulldogs have been a little inconsistent, beating Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Kentucky while losing to Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Auburn and Florida.
Georgia is led offensively by sophomore guard Jarvis Hayes, who averages 18.0 points per game. Guard Ezra Williams is second on the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game.
“They’re very good on the perimeter,” Brady said. “They do have good size, although they don’t have great size. I think they may be a little bigger than we are. We’re going to have to play a very good game for us to have an opportunity to win the game.”
The last time the two teams met was in the 2001 SEC Tournament when LSU upset Georgia, 63-62, in the first round.
According to Brady, this is basically the same Georgia team except for the addition of Hayes.
“[Hayes] has probably had the biggest impact of anybody in the league on one particular team,” he said.
LSU will look for a better performance from leading scorer Ronald Dupree. Dupree, who averages 17.3 points per game, scored 30 points in the Tigers’ win over Arkansas on Saturday but was held to six points in the loss to the Gamecocks.
“For Ronald to score only six points, it makes it very difficult for our team from an offensive standpoint,” Brady said. “We do need Ronald to get some baskets. He’s going to need to score about 20 points or so against Georgia for us to have an opportunity to win.”
LSU will not have the services of guard Collis Temple III, who sprained his right ankle for the third time this season Wednesday night.
“It’s not only the ankle, but it’s the partially torn tendon,” Brady said. “It’s a whole collection of things that are wrong with that ankle. I’m not sure how much he will play the rest of the season.”
Graham Thomas