Mark Fox didn’t bother to sugarcoat or try to analyze the game Charles Mann played at Tennessee on Tuesday.
“Charles just had a stinker,” Fox said of Georgia’s sophomore point guard. “He just didn’t play well on (offense or defense). … He was probably due for a game where he didn’t play well, and he didn’t. But he’s been a really good player for us. I’m sure he’ll bounce back.”
The Bulldogs need him to as they head to Columbia, S.C., on Saturday to wrap up the season series with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Georgia (14-11, 8-5 SEC) manhandled South Carolina 97-77 in Athens last month. But the young Gamecocks (10-16, 3-10) have picked it up considerably late in the season. They’ve won their past two at home, 65-59 over Vanderbilt and 67-66 over Alabama, and narrowly lost at Arkansas (71-64) on Wednesday.
“They’re a better team than when we played them last time,” said Mann, who had 10 points and three assists before fouling out in the first meeting. “They’re hot right now. They won a couple of good games and lost a tough one to Arkansas. So we know it’s going to be battle. It’s not going to be a cakewalk.”
Mann paces the Bulldogs with an average of 13.5 points per game. He reached double figures in scoring in six consecutive games — and 17 overall — before he was held to five points in Tuesday’s 68-49 loss to Tennessee. Mann shot 2-for-6 from the field, but the primary issue was not getting to the free-throw line. Entering the game with an average of more than 10 free throws per game in SEC play, he toed the line twice against the Volunteers.
“I just didn’t have a good game,” said Mann, echoing his coach’s assessment. “I couldn’t get into a rhythm. I was getting frustrated. I just didn’t play well. I’ve just got to play better.”
The referees didn’t help Georgia’s cause against the Vols. Averaging 30 free throws per game in SEC play, the Bulldogs went to the line 11 times at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee attempted only 18.
That certainly wasn’t an issue when Georgia and South Carolina got together last time. Together they shot 86 free throws, with the Bulldogs making 33 of their 50. In all, 62 personal fouls were called.
“We’ve both got to be smart enough not to do that again,” Fox said. “That’s a little too physical, but I anticipate it will be a physical game again.”
It’s certainly more important. Georgia enters the final five games of the regular season with an opportunity to sweep the regular-season series in each one. After South Carolina comes a home matchup Tuesday night against Missouri, which it defeated 70-68 in overtime at Columbia to open the SEC schedule.
Ultimately, postseason play is on the line.
“For us, it’s a must-win,” said guard Kenny Gaines, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer in the past two games. “It’s a road game and South Carolina is playing well. We’ve got to come out and play our best basketball.”
Mann, especially.
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