Georgia gets ready for road game against No. 1 Alabama
If you’ve listened to Mike White this season, several times has he said something along the lines of his team having to play its best game in order to have a chance against an opponent. Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky and of course now No. 1 Alabama, who Georgia takes on Saturday afternoon, are all the kind of teams that White knows require a particular kind of performance in order to compete with.
“You always feel better about yourself a little bit and your program and your team of course, and the guys feel a little bit better about themselves having won rather than lost. We found a way the other day of course. It wasn’t overly pretty, but found a way to win,” White said on Friday, speaking about his team’s approach entering the Alabama contest off of two straight wins. “Alabama certainly has our attention. A great opportunity, you know? How many times in life do you have the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country? Pretty cool. They’ve got a chance to win it all. They’re really, really good. Obviously we’re going to have to play by far our best game to be competitive. We’ll see. I liked our approach [Friday]. I think our guys are excited. It ought to be a great environment and looking forward to the travel.”
The Crimson Tide are led by likely SEC Freshman of the Year Brandon Miller who’s averaging 18.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Fellow freshmen Noah Clowney and Jaden Bradley have also been of a huge help to Nate Oats’ team, but it’s not just young guys getting it done. Fifth-year senior Jahvon Quinerly is a leader both on and off the court while junior Mark Sears is also averaging in double-figures with 13.5 points per game.
“Yeah, and they’ve got some veterans too that are really talented and have winning experience of course,” White added when asked about the talented freshmen leading the way for Alabama. “Speed, length, depth, can really really shoot it of course. I mean, they’re one of the best offensive teams in the country, and they’re better defensively. That’s the best way to put it. They’re elite defensively as well. Their two-point field goal percentage defense, their 3-point field goal percentage defense are both off the charts. Both are top five in the country, which is really rare. They’re terrific. Again, they’ve got a chance to win the whole thing.”
Alabama (22-4, 12-1 SEC) lost its last time out while Georgia (16-10, 6-7 SEC) has won two straight, but the Bulldogs have a long way to go before being considered the kind of contender the Crimson Tide are with just weeks to go until Selection Sunday. While Georgia beat LSU earlier this week, White was far from pleased with the performance, needing a shot to fall with less than five seconds to beat the league last-place Tigers. To him, it’s a matter of attention to detail and focus. Good news though, Alabama absolutely has had Georgia’s focus since that game.
Tip time from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa is set for 6:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
