Game Preview: Georgia Bulldogs Bringing Minimal Bite Into Queen City

Cincinnati fell to UGA 83-68 on the road last season.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Nov 16, 2021 7:37 AM EST

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team got off on the right foot to start the Wes Miller era, and now they have a chance to make a statement against a Power Five opponent.

The Georgia Bulldogs roll into Fifth Third Arena on Saturday for a 7 p.m. tipoff aiming to sweep the home-and-home matchups between these two programs. ESPN projects the Bearcats to win this contest 55.1% of the time. UC moved up 11 spots in KenPom's rankings to No. 106 this week, while Georgia sits at No. 163.

These programs are 1-1 all-time, with UC coming out on top 57-51 ten years ago at Georgia. The Bearcats fell to UGA 83-68 last December on the heels of a 27-4 run to close the first half.

Forget a 27-point run; the Bearcats only allowed 22 first-half points to the Evansville Purple Aces in their 65-43 season-opening win. The teamwide-defensive effort offered hope that a return to gritty, defensive-minded basketball is on the horizon.

Those hopes can be cemented even more by beating a Power Five squad in front of a white-out crowd at Fifth Third Arena. The Bulldogs aren't any type of juggernaut, and that was clear in their season-opening win over FIU.

Tom Crean is just 42-49 overall in three-plus seasons helming the Bulldogs. Georgia returned just one player (senior forward P.J. Horne) who averaged over 10 minutes per game from a 2020-21 team that finished 14-12 and 7-11 in SEC play.

Crean's squad last year had no trouble filling up the cup (77.5 PPG, 42nd nationwide) but couldn't stop a nose bleed on the other end (78.0 PPG, 313th). Seeing nearly half of the roster leave in one offseason clearly hurt the Bulldogs' offense in game one. Every departing name but one averaged at least 8.7 PPG.

Flash forward to their 58-51 triumph over FIU, and we find a team that looks like half of the roster just started playing together. Georgia shot an abysmal 35.1% from the floor and 3-of-20 on three-point attempts. Senior Gonzaga transfer guard Aaron Cook (10 points, eight assists, six rebounds) was the only Bulldog to reach double figures.

That is a disastrous offensive showing at home to start a season, considering that FIU ranked 298th in defensive efficiency (1.057 points per possession allowed) last season. Tom Crean has never found the right formula in Athens, and his team avoided an upset thanks to a defense that was shaky at best last season.

Georgia matches up better physically with UC than Evansville did, but that lack of chemistry could play a detrimental role in front of a fired-up away crowd. Crean's crew picked up right where they left off in the turnover department during game one.

The Bulldogs gave up the rock 15 times in their season-opening win after ranking 330th in turnovers per game last season (16.7 TPG). The swarming defense UC played against Evansville is a bad omen for Georgia.

The Bearcats may have taken it on the chin in their trip down south last season, but this is a new team, new coach, and road environment that many of these UGA players haven't felt in a long time.

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