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Looking to extend the program’s best start to a season since 2006-07, Georgia faces Grand Canyon in Atlanta on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (8-1) have won three in a row, but they haven’t played since Dec. 3, when they earned a 69-48 home win over Notre Dame as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Keying Georgia’s strong start has been the effort on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Mike White’s team is allowing just 64.4 points per game — third fewest in the Southeastern Conference — and has held opponents to 38.8 percent shooting from the field and 27.5 percent from 3-point range.

Pivotal on that front has been Vanderbilt transfer Tyrin Lawrence, whose average of 1.8 steals per game ranks second on the team behind Silas Demary Jr.’s 2.0. For White, the addition of Lawrence has been as important as anything.

“Tyrin, a fifth-year guy, his decisions, his comfort level have been great,” White said. “He’s settling into what we’re trying to do. … We’ll continue to tweak some things, but Tyrin defensively has been fantastic. He’s just been really sharp, really accountable throughout the year and he’s been a pleasure to coach.”

Lawrence’s 11.4 points per game sit behind Asa Newell’s 15.9, Demary’s 13.7 and Dakota Leffew’s 13.3.

White’s coaching counterpart on Saturday is a familiar face in SEC country, as Grand Canyon is led by Bryce Drew, who led Vanderbilt from 2016-19.

The Lopes (6-2) will look for their second power conference win of the season year. Grand Canyon beat Stanford on Nov. 26 in Palm Desert, Calif., the second victory of its current four-game winning streak.

The Lopes are led by Tyon Grant-Foster’s 16 points per game and JaKobe Coles’ 15.9, but the return of Duke Brennan from injury has been crucial to Grand Canyon’s success. Since making his season debut on Nov. 22, the 6-foot-10 junior has chipped in 9.8 points and a team-best eight rebounds per game.

“Having Duke Brennan changes our team dramatically,” Drew said. “He puts pressure on the rim, he sets big screens, he takes a lot of contact. He frees things up for JaKobe and Tyon, so his presence changes both ends of the court for us.”

Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between the teams.

–Field Level Media