ATHENS – Play time is over. Time to get busy, to get down to brass tacks.
Pick your favorite cliché, and that’s where Georgia is in this still-young and wildly unpredictable basketball season.
The Bulldogs have looked great so far, firing out to a 7-0 record. That is, rather famously, their best start since that significant season of 1982-83. But before fans start booking their reservations for Georgia’s first Final Four appearance since then, there comes the matter of the SEC schedule.
That starts Wednesday night when Mississippi State (5-3) visits Stegeman Coliseum (7 p.m., SEC Network).
Neither of these teams were tabbed for greatness. The Maroon Dogs and Georgia were predicted by SEC media to finish 12th and 13th, respectively, in the 14-team league. Then, again, the regal Kentucky Wildcats were picked second by that group, and they sit at 1-6.
But we’ll learn much about all these teams over the coming weeks, Georgia’s Bulldogs included.
“I was wound up and uptight when it was Columbus State to open up,” third-year coach Tom Crean said of the Bulldogs’ first opponent of the season. “I don’t think it really matters as a coach who you’re playing, when you’re playing. It’s just that you are playing. And certainly conference play is a different deal, especially with somebody as good as Mississippi State.”
Both Mississippi State and UGA have taken a similar approach to this point. Neither teams’ non-conference slate is going to compete for strength-of-schedule honors. Georgia’s best wins came against Cincinnati and Montana, and on its home floor. Mississippi State lost to its best opponents, 53-42 to Clemson to open the season and 85-82 to Dayton in two overtimes two weeks ago.
But all that’s out the window now. It’s all about conference play from here to March madness. Where the Bulldogs fit in that conversation has yet to be determined.
They’re eager to find out.
“We’re super-excited,” said sophomore point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who leads the league in assists with 52, or 7.4 per game. “We look at it as a new season and a chance to compete against our fellow SEC members. Hopefully we’ll make some noise this year, but we’re just thankful for the opportunity to get back on the court.”
Like everything else in 2020, just being able to play is a blessing. The season’s start was delayed until late November and then the Bulldogs have played half the games to this point than they would in a normal season.
But any questions they might have about themselves should quickly get answered provided the games currently lined up are played as scheduled. After Mississippi State, Georgia hits the road to face LSU and Arkansas, who are picked third and sixth, respectively, in the conference, and then back home to take on Auburn. In all, the Bulldogs will have played the top two-thirds of the league before they get out of January.
By then there will be answers aplenty. Right now, there are only questions.
“As we get into league, we’ll learn a lot,” Crean said. “Whatever weaknesses we have will get exploited. The season is always a continual process of getting better, and we’ve got to make sure that we are.”
The immediate challenge is a Mississippi State team that is markedly bigger. It features four players who stand 6-foot-10 or taller, while Georgia has none to match. Meanwhile, the Maroons feature an inside-outside scoring threat in 6-6 guard D.J. Stewart, who averages 18.3 points per game and scored 32 against Dayton.
But the Bulldogs have encountered teams with size advantages before and came away victorious. Montana proved a formidable foe but finally lost, 63-50. More recently, Georgia thumped a sizable team from Cincinnati 83-68.
“Obviously we’re not one of the biggest teams in the SEC or in the country,” said the 5-10 Wheeler. “But we are the fastest, or one of the fastest. So, they’re going to have to keep up with us, even though they are bigger.”
That has been the tact Crean has taken since he arrived at Georgia, to move more and faster than anybody they play. That has resulted in an inordinate amount of turnovers (17.7 pg). but also a lot of points (81.1).
The Maroons play a more deliberate style under coach Ben Howland, one of the best in the game. They’re averaging 73 per game.
“We’re going to run, right?” Crean said, again. “What we can’t do is play slowed down. We’ve got to continue to be on the attack. That means even when we’re in half-court offense we’ve got five guys moving and are doing a lot of cutting. As we move into games against teams with a lot of bigger, more athletic bodies, that’s where we’re going to learn a lot about our team.”
Let the lessons begin.
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