Georgia set for rivalry game between two streaking squads

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball and Stegeman Coliseum play host to a big one on Tuesday night as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate hits the hardwood. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, receiving votes in the most recent edition of the AP Poll, come to town hot off a back to back ranked wins to take on a Bulldogs squad that’s won three in a row as well.

Last year’s meeting between of the two in-state rivals was a close one. Mike White‘s first matchup with Tech as the UGA head coach didn’t go the way he would’ve wanted. The Bulldogs saw their lead slip away in the final minute and turned it over twice in the final 10 seconds with a couple of opportunities to win one on the road.

This year though, it’s a team with nine newcomers, and several new faces on the opposite sideline too including head coach Damon Stoudamire in his first season at the helm. While last year’s loss certainly has been brought up, White knows this one is important regardless of previous results.

“We just mentioned those couple things, the loss from last year being one. I’m sure they are going to say the same thing about the rivalry games’ importance. Not just to us, but to our fans, as well as their fans,” White said. “We lost at their place last year. That’s about it. Beyond that, it’s about this year’s Georgia Tech team and this year’s Georgia team and preparing for how to defend them and how to score against them.”

Justin Hill and Jabri Abdur-Rahim were on that team last year. Just two of the four players that return, they too understand the importance of the rivalry and are excited to play this one at home.

“It’s a big-time rivalry. Everybody takes it serious, and we’re taking it serious. We can’t wait to play,” Hill said. “Especially we get to play them here now, we’re excited to try and get the win for our fans … I think it’s going to be the biggest crowd for the year, so all the new players and everybody we have, it’s going to be a fun experience for everybody to see all the support we have.”

“I think it’s really going to speak for itself tomorrow,” Abdur-Rahim, a Georgia native, added. “I don’t think a lot of guys understand how important people take it. I think it’s going to be a good environment tomorrow. It will be a lot of those guys’ first crazy environments in college basketball, and I’m glad it’s a home one. I think they’re going to see it for themselves tomorrow, but they know it’s a game we’ve got to have a lot of pride in. Coach emphasized that we lost last year, so we want to get back right for sure.”

As for how the recent play of both teams impacts this one, the two players think it makes for an even bigger game on top of the rivalry. Their coach agrees. Georgia’s won three straight including last week’s come-from-behind win over Florida State while Tech has beaten Mississippi State and Duke, both ranked at the time, in the last seven days.

White, after the win over Florida State in which the Bulldogs trailed by 17 with under 8:00 to play, said it was Abdur-Rahim who provided the team with a boost in confidence, trying to tell his teammates that they weren’t out of it. Then, of course, it was Hill who had the dagger for the Dawgs with his game-winning jumper with 1.5 seconds to play.

“We have a never quit mentality. I see it in practice, I’ve seen it games where we have the ability to make runs,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I knew that if we made a couple of big shots down the stretch that we’d have a chance to make it interesting. There was a lot of time left, a lot of timeouts, there was a lot of opportunity there so I knew it wasn’t over. 15 to 17 points can turn into 10 really quick, then you just make a couple of lucky ones and get a little fortunate, it can go your way. I’m very happy that it did.”

“It builds my confidence a lot, because we rallied back and to see the ball going up after I shot it and everybody jumping up and down, it was exciting. I feel like we earned it – we worked hard for that,” Hill added on the game-winner. “I feel like we’re in a very good spot. Georgia Tech will be a challenge – they’re coming off a very big win themselves – so I feel like it’s going to be a fun game.”

White still wants to see improvement, as any good head coach would, and the Tuesday matchup with Tech offers the next opportunity for that. It’s the second of six December home dates and the final of six non-conference games against power conference opponents for Georgia. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

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