Georgia hosts Notre Dame for big SEC/ACC Challenge matchup

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball’s got a big one Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum as the Bulldogs host Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Last year, UGA was on the road for the Challenge. Mike White’s squad stormed back from a 17-point deficit to come from behind to beat Florida State. It was a win that the Bulldogs used later on in the year to give themselves confidence they could win away from home – as they did three times in SEC play and twice in the NIT to advance to the tournament semifinals.

This year though it’s the friendly confines of the Classic City that could be a difference for the Dawgs. Under White’s direction UGA has not lost a non-conference game at home. Saturday saw the Bulldogs take down Jacksonville in impressive fashion, beating the Dolphins 102-56 behind the best field goal and 3-point percentages of the Mike White era and the most points scored in his time too.

“We’re hopeful that we’ve got a really good turnout,” White said about his hopes for the atmosphere at The Steg Tuesday night. “We’ve got guys that lay it on the line, that work every day and play hard between the lines. We’ve got talented guys that are laying out on the floor and diving for loose balls and sharing it with each other and that I think are doing a really good job representing all of us here at Georgia, and we’d be appreciative for a great turnout and give us a chance to play well against a high-level program.”

There’s a lot that Georgia can get out of the matchup with Notre Dame. The Irish started off 4-0 with wins over Stonehill, Buffalo, Georgetown and North Dakota. They were competitive last week in Las Vegas with Rutgers, Houston and Creighton. Even without its best player Markus Burton, reigning ACC Rookie of the Year and a preseason All-ACC selection who was averaging 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game entering the Rutgers contest he got hurt in, White sees the value in his team being tested by a quality opponent.

“You want opportunities to find out more about yourselves, opportunities to learn about strengths and weaknesses and to develop, to grow together through wins or losses,” White said. “We had a couple of those here recently. We had one at Georgia Tech. We’ve got another one here Tuesday.”

“They’re very, very good and extremely well-coached,” he added about Notre Dame. “They’re going to be really prepared. They’re just a solid, solid team and program. And, you know, for us, it’s about the preparation starting tomorrow. It’s about playing well, continuing to get better, and hopefully that puts us in a position to be competitive down the stretch.”

This just in… 📺🔴#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/f5pDE4uY7U

— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) December 1, 2024

Georgia is 7-1 on the season with a marquee win over St. John’s already in The Bahamas. ESPN’s latest look at an NCAA Tournament projection has UGA in the field for the first time since 2015. While there’s a long way to go until Selection Sunday and plenty of opportunities for the Bulldogs to make a statement in SEC play, finishing the non-conference schedule with the lone loss to Marquette (No. 5 in the AP Poll this week) would look very impressive. Doing so starts with Notre Dame Tuesday.

Tip time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Georgia and Notre Dame played two seasons ago, White’s first on the job, in Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena. Braelen Bridges led UGA to the win on a night he finished a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, earning SEC Player of the Week honors for his performance. The Bulldogs will be back in Atlanta for that same event in just over a week (December 14), this time taking on Grand Canyon – coming off of an NCAA Tournament win last season and projected to make the field once again come March.

SEC/ACC CHALLENGE SCHEDULE

TUESDAY: Notre Dame @ Georgia (7:00 p.m. ET / ESPNU), Arkansas @ Miami (7:00 p.m. ET / ESPN2), California @ Missouri (7:00 p.m. ET / SEC Network), South Carolina @ Boston College (7:00 p.m. ET / ACC Network), Syracuse @ Tennessee (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), Wake Forest @ Texas A&M (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2), Ole Miss @ Louisville (9:00 p.m. ET, ACC Network), Georgia Tech @ Oklahoma (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPNU), Florida State @ LSU (9:00 p.m. ET, SEC Network), Kentucky @ Clemson (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

WEDNESDAY: Alabama @ North Carolina (7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), Virginia @ Florida (7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2), Auburn @ Duke (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), Pittsburgh @ Mississippi State (9:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network), Texas @ NC State (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2), Vanderbilt @ Virginia Tech (9:15 p.m. ET, ACC Network)