UK vs. UGA Pre-game Hoops Thoughts

Looking to Kentucky:
- Tickets are still available for this 9:00 pm Tuesday ESPN tip=off.

- The Wildcats are reeling. This is as good a chance at beating them as we've seen lately. If memory serves, the Dawgs are 4 of 9 vs. UK in our recent matchups. I don't remember another time when the Dawgs entered this game with a better overall and conference record than the Wildcats. I haven't seen the line, but I doubt we're favored.

- Key matchups to watch. We don't have an inside answer for Randolph Morris. He put up 19 points in 32 minutes in the Wildcat's loss to Bama. It will be interesting to see how we defend him. Also interesting will be watching how we defend Rajon Rondo and Patrick Sparks. Sparks played for Felton at WKU, and this game seems to bring out his best work. We can't let Rondo and Sparks control the tempo. Gaines, Mercer and Stukes will have their hands full defensively with these two.

- Key Stats: If we keep our turnovers under 15 and shoot 70% from the Free Throw line, I love our chances. We're shooting 65% from the line for the season, so this isn't an unreasonable goal. If we piss away opportunities at the line and cough up the ball, we lose.

This game is critical to Georgia's very limited NCAA Tourney chances. We MUST go 8-8 in the SEC to make the tourney. Realistically, I think that means we need to go 5-3 or better at home and 3-5 or better on the road. A win vs. UK on Tuesday puts us at 2-2 in the SEC overall. The momentum from back to back UK and SC wins would fuel us nicely as our next SEC games are:
- Ole Miss (home)
- LSU (road)
- Auburn (road)
- Bama (home)

As of Monday pre-dawn, the Georgia Bulldogs have an RPI of 63 while UK is at 52 according to KenPom.com. WarrenNolan.com has us at 62. It's still early.

Come out to the Game on Tuesday if you get a chance. This team is making progress, and Tuesday is enormous for the program.


[Photo: Jarvis Hayes enjoys our first big win at Rupp. If anyone can find a loophole to get that year of eligibility back, please email Damon Evans. Photo from Nashville Dawg's Dawgvent Sig. Click to Enlarge]

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