It’s hard enough to play a team like Seton Hall any time of year. But to play them at home on a Sunday evening four days before Christmas and well after the student body has headed home for the holidays makes it even more of a challenge.
But that’s the task that faces Georgia (5-3), which plays host to Pirates (9-1) at 6 p.m. Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum.
“It’s so hard now to get these types of games at home, first of all,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “And to get them when school’s in session is another whole challenge. But you’ve to take them when you can get them and hope your fans will come and support your team.”
The Bulldogs have a core group of local basketball fans that come to almost every home contest. But Athens is a pretty small town when the 35,000-student university is not in session. Suffice it to say Sunday’s attendance won’t come close to filling the Bulldogs’ 10,000-seat arena.
But Georgia is a veteran-laden team and these players have been endured such games in the past.
“It shouldn’t matter that much,” senior forward Marcus Thornton said. “A lot of us have been here before and we know you play over winter break there’s not going to be a big crowd. We understand that. You can’t depend on a crowd. Basketball is a game that’s played between the lines, so that’s what you focus on, that’s what you can control.”
Said junior guard Charles Mann: “Of course, a great crowd gives us confidence and lifts us up. But we can’t rely on the crowd or who’s going to be here in order to play well. We’ve just got to believe in each other and just play for us. We’ve just got to play for each other and bring our own noise to the game.”
Crowd or no crowd, the Bulldogs need to be at their best. The Pirates are a guard-oriented team that gets 36 points a game from its backcourt trio Sterling Gibbs (16.6 ppg), Isaiah Whitehead (12.6) and Jaren Sina (7.4). They’ve won their nine games by an average of 15 points apiece and their only loss was by nine on the road at No. 11 Wichita State.
In the meantime, Georgia won’t be at full strength in its backcourt. Junior Kenny Gaines was able to return to practice Thursday for the first time since suffering a severe sprain of his right shoulder in the win over Colorado two weeks ago. He’s expected to play on Sunday but how effective he might be is uncertain.
“We were able to get him partially back in practice, but it has been a slow recovery,” Fox said. “He couldn’t shoot the ball for nine days. It’s been a more significant injury than we thought. … We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he responds well.”
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