AUBURN—After blowing out its midweek foe in No. 14 Mississippi State 88-66, the No. 1 Auburn Tigers are set for another top 25 matchup against No. 23 Georgia on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.
“I find it interesting that this is the second time in the last four years that Auburn has gone into Georgia ranked No. 1. We were very fortunate to get out of Stegeman Coliseum and win by two and Wendell Greene made a bucket at the buzzer. We’ve had some success over there, but the games have all been really incredible. I’m sure it’s sold out and the environment will be hostile. I’m sure we’ll have witnesses that will make the trip over there. So it should be just a great environment,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.
The top-ranked Tigers will aim to defend their No. 1 spot, once again without star center Johni Broome, who is still recovering from a sprained ankle sustained in the second half of last week’s game against South Carolina. Pearl confirmed that Broome would not practice on Thursday.
It was a collective effort in the Tigers’ 22-point triumph over the Mississippi State, without Broome, in which everybody stepped up on both ends of the floor. Chad Baker-Mazara led the way with a season-high 20-point performance. Chaney Johnson stepped up big in Broome’s absence with 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in his first start of the season, and Miles Kelly went for his fifth-career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgia's defense is another tenacious one for the Tigers—it ranks in the top 20 in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom—with 8.3 steals per game and forcing its opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs boast five players averaging at least one steal per game.
“Georgia is very athletic. They defend very physically. They sink, they strip-and-rip, they’re physical getting through screens. They’re physical offensively setting screens. Probably setting screens and getting through screens are two things that I think their physicality stepped up. They turn people over. Their steal percentage is really high. I just think bigger bodies. They’ve got great size in the backcourt, great length. And their frontline is bigger than most,” Pearl said.
A key matchup for the Tigers will be the defensive play of Johnson and Dylan Cardwell in the paint as they contend with the Bulldogs’ leading scorer Asa Newell, who averages 15.3 ppg. Newell has also reeled in 61 offensive rebounds this season, posing a potential challenge for the Tigers as they have struggled on the defensive glass and defending in the painted area – issues that nearly cost them against Texas and South Carolina, where opposing big men went for season highs in Auburn’s narrow victories.
“Of course, Asa Newell is one of the very best freshmen in the country. He, along with several of the other guys on Georgia’s roster, are guys we recruited and did not get. Several of Georgia’s players are guys we recruited and did not get. And Asa is certainly at the top of that list,” Pearl said. “He’s a great player, great offensive rebounder, great motor. He’s got an NBA body at 6-foot-11 and long. He’s the best offensive rebounder in our league, and particularly his offensive rebounds just lead to buckets because he gets in there pretty deep.”
The Bulldogs boast three other players with double-digit scoring efforts in Dakota Leffew (12.1 ppg), Silas Demary Jr. (11.9 ppg) and De’Shayne Montgomery (10.0 ppg.)
The matchup will give the Tigers an opportunity to earn their 10th Quad 1 win of the season.
“Mike White has done a great job with that program, turning that program around, and having them be probably the most competitive they’ve been in a long time. And it’s another Quad 1 opportunity for us and we’ll have to continue to play really, really well being down a man. A big man,” Pearl said.
Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. on SECN.
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