Georgia Basketball Looks for Revenge against Arizona State

The Georgia Bulldogs look to avenge last year's loss to Arizona State by grabbing a resume-building win over the Sun Devils in Tempe today.

If you watched Georgia Basketball last season, I'm sure you've had this game circled on your schedule.

The Georgia Bulldogs went into halftime against the #20 Arizona State Sun Devils with a 14-point lead. At one point, the Bulldogs led by as much as 18. But, Georgia's coughing up 19 turnovers in that game led to Arizona State coming from behind and winning 76-74 inside of Stegeman Coliseum.

Today, the Bulldogs take on the Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona. 

Friday night lights. #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/0Q6R9w2CFq

— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) December 14, 2019

Vegas' odds are predicting to this to be a close game, favoring Arizona State by 4 points. However, ESPN's Basketball Power Index gives Georgia just an 18.1% chance to win this game. 

This game could have serious tournament implications if Georgia can walk out with the win. Currently, Arizona State ranks 41st in the NCAA College Basketball RPI Rankings, qualifying this as a potential Quadrant 1-victory. For a team on the edge of a tournament bid, any and every Quadrant 1 win helps build the resume.

Arizona State (7-2) is a talented basketball team. Offensively they are led by junior guard, Remy Martin, who gave Georgia fits in the matchup last season. Martin leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging 20 PPG ans 3.8 APG. Down low, they're led by junior forward, Romello White, who stands at 6'8". 

For Georgia (6-2), they have the talent to hang with a team like Arizona State. The offense is being generated by freshman phenom, Anthony Edwards, who currently averages 20.6 PPG. And much like the crafty Remy Martin, Georgia is developing a guard with a similar style in Sahvir Wheeler, who leads the team in assists with 4.6 APG. 

Keys to the game for Georgia:

1. Find a way to contain Remy Martin.

The ASU offense runs through Martin. Georgia has to find a way to force him into offensive frustrations whether it be matching up with a good on-ball defender, like Sahvir Wheeler, or putting a bigger guard like Anthony Edwards or Donnell Gresham Jr. on him.

2. Keep Rayshaun Hammonds in the game.

Georgia can't afford to have Rayshaun Hammonds in foul trouble due to his post presence and rebounding efforts (14.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG). With Arizona State having a post scorer in Romello White, Georgia will look to Hammonds to score on par with him.

3. Let Ant-Man do his thing.

Every basketball fan knows you need to keep the ball in the hands of your best player. With Anthony Edwards increasing his shooting percentage in the last three games, Tom Crean has to make sure he's getting touches. When you put the ball in his hands, he seems to make magical things happen for the Georgia team.

Tip-off is set for 8:00 P.M. tonight, televised by the PAC-12 Network. For viewers without this channel, multiple free streaming services do have the game available.