ATHENS — Georgia still has a handful of games to write the story about its first season under coach Mike White. But enough evidence has been entered to make at least one determination.
The Bulldogs have a long way to go to be competitive against the best SEC teams.
That fact was underscored again Saturday, when Georgia fell to No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The 49-point loss dropped the Bulldogs to 0-4 in their last four road games. The average margin of defeat in those contests was 31 points.
Georgia will get another crack at altering the road-game pushover label when it visits Arkansas on Tuesday (9 p.m., SECN). It’s a huge game for the Razorbacks (18-9, 7-7 SEC), who are among eight SEC teams that believe they can still play themselves into the NCAA Tournament. Tied for seventh in the SEC, Arkansas is 12-2 at Bud Walton Arena and will be determined to not let a rebuilding Georgia squad blemish its fragile résumé.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (16-11, 6-8) are still trying to prove themselves as something more than just visiting-team fodder. Georgia already has won as many SEC games as it did overall games one year ago. But it hasn’t won a road game since Jan. 14 at Ole Miss, and it could be argued there has been some regression lately. The Bulldogs failed to compete from the jump last weekend against the conference’s top team.
“When you’re trying to build something, it is a process,” White said after Saturday’s 108-59 loss. “That’s something we have to remind ourselves of every day. Sometimes it’s a couple steps forward and a couple back. But there’s plenty of basketball in front of us, and we’ve just got to focus on being better.”
Perhaps it was good, then, that Georgia had limited time between games. The Bulldogs did not practice Sunday and barely did Monday before jumping on their charter jet for Fayetteville, Arkansas.
White thought Georgia looked and played tired against Alabama, so the emphasis was on “getting our legs back under us.” As for critiquing what happened against the Crimson Tide, White indicated they would do little, if any, review.
“A quick turn to play another very good team in this league on the road in a hostile environment,” White said. “This time of the season, neither Arkansas or us are going to make wholesale changes. It’s about your focus and your execution and your fight. We’ve just got to compete at a much higher level.”
As for silver linings, guard Justin Hill has been one for the Bulldogs. His team-high 17 points against Alabama was his fifth consecutive game with double-figure scoring. That stretch began with Terry Roberts sidelined with a concussion, and Roberts has struggled to return to form as Georgia’s leading scorer.
Arkansas is coming off an 84-65 win over Florida on Saturday. That snapped a two-game losing skid for the Razorbacks, who are a high-scoring team (74.2 ppg). Led by wings Ricky Council (16.4 ppg) and Anthony Black (13.0), they get 6.3 points or more a game from five other players. Jalen Graham, who represents the bottom of that scale, is coming off a 26-point effort against the Gators.
Georgia, though, is not concerned with matchups. The Bulldogs’ focus will be entirely on “fight” Tuesday night.
“All we can control is our approach for the next one,” White said. “I’m really disappointed in the level of fight. … So, playing hard and with confidence are things I addressed with our guys.”
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