Striving to remain on the right side of the bubble, Georgia hosts LSU on Wednesday in Southeastern Conference play in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (15-7, 3-6 SEC) currently are among the “last four in” and “last four byes” in CBS Sports’ and ESPN’s respective bracketology updates. After wins over then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 17 Oklahoma in January, Georgia appeared in the Top 25 for the first time in 14 years, but have since entered a cold stretch, dropping five of six.
The Bulldogs have only eclipsed the 70-point mark once in the last six games, with their cold shooting continuing in Saturday’s 90-69 loss at then-No. 4 Alabama. Georgia made just four of its 23 3-pointers (17.4 percent) and went 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from the free-throw line — two issues that Georgia head coach Mike White knows have to be corrected.
“The empty possessions from the foul line continue to haunt us,” White said. “We’re past not talking about it. We’re going to talk about it non-stop and see where it goes. If we converted at a higher level from three and the foul line, maybe it’s a competitive game down the stretch. … We’ve got to make some shots, and we’ve got to win some games.”
Georgia’s 32.2 percent 3-point shooting clip ranks 13th in the SEC, while its 70.9 percent rate on free throws is tied for 12th. Freshman forward Asa Newell leads the team with 15.2 points and seven rebounds per game. Silas Demary Jr. adds 11.1 points and Dakota Leffew chips in 10.9 per game.
LSU (12-9, 1-7) has lost seven of eight games and hasn’t earned a true road victory since Nov. 14.
The Tigers may have hit rock bottom last time out, falling to Texas 89-58 at home on Saturday. Jordan Sears had 13 points off the bench in the loss, finishing as the only player in double-figure scoring.
For a team that desperately needs a win, questions have to be answered for head coach Matt McMahon.
“I think we’re going to need to have some really competitive practices and try to determine who needs to be on the floor,” McMahon said. “We need to figure out what combinations are best, who can help us in the areas of ball security, defensive rebounding and offensive execution to give ourselves a better chance.”
Cam Carter paces the Tigers with 17.3 points per game, followed by Sears’ 14. Corey Chest pulls down a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
