Georgia takes to Sunshine State for rivalry game against Florida

Any Georgia-Florida matchup, no matter the sport, is going to be a big one, but Saturday’s hardwood showdown between the Bulldogs and Gators might have something extra special behind it.

Georgia head coach Mike White spent seven seasons in Gainesville as Florida’s head man. While it won’t be the first trip back to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center – that happened last year when UGA was handed an 82-75 loss in early January – White seems to have a team more ready to compete this go around as he looks for his first win on the other side of the rivalry.

“I think they’re a tournament team,” White said of the Gators, currently in Joe Lundardi’s Next Four Out. “I do, just watching them on TV two or three times … It will be a tough environment. We know that. But it’s an opportunity against a team we think is capable of beating anybody in our league. They’ve got size, they’re really good on the offensive glass, they guard you like LSU. They can space you with multiple guards, they can go make plays. Their ball-screen continuity stuff is tough to defend, so, it will be a very difficult game for us, just like every road game in our league.”

Georgia has had success on the road so far this season, winning its first three games before falling, but fighting, against Kentucky this past Saturday. It comes with a group of nine newcomers who had to gel early in the season – losing three of the first five.

Of course for those newcomers, this will also be their first time in the Georgia-Florida rivalry. It’s one that the Gators have owned as of late with eight straight wins. All time, the advantage belongs to the Bulldogs with a mark of 122-103.

“I’ve never played Florida before, but I know this game means a little bit more for us,” Bulldog big man Russel Tchewa, who spent time in the Sunshine State at South Floria, said when asked about the Gators after hitting Wednesday’s game-winner against LSU. “We’re going to be ready for that. We’re just going to be focused on the game plan and go there and be ready to go and try to win.”

“[I’m] just looking forward to having Coach White’s back coming from there. Looking forward to going there to get the win,” freshman Silas Demary added. “It’s going to be a tough crowd. We’ve just got to go in there with confidence and believe in ourselves, and we’ve just got to be us.”

Tip time is set for 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Saturday’s game marks the first matchup of two this season with Florida’s return trip to Georgia coming on February 17th.

NOTES AND QUOTES

*** Georgia and Florida share six common opponents so far including a pair from their respective power-conference heavy non-conference slates. Both the Bulldogs and Gators have played: Arkansas, Florida State, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Wake Forest. UGA has a 4-2 record in those games while UF is 3-3 with the only different being a loss to Wake.

*** UGA enters the weekend ranked No. 20 nationally in bench points at 29.7 points per game (ppg) coming from outside the starting five. Georgia reserves have won the bench battle in 17 of 19 games to date. Of the players coming off the bench, RJ Melendez is the highest scoring at 9.8 ppg, followed by Justin Hill (9.1 ppg). Georgia head coach Mike White had this to say about Melendez after Wednesday night’s win over LSU…

“Really competitive. In transition? You know, he’s got good length. He’s got ability to run through passes. He’s really, really fast, so his first few steps there whether he gets the ball or he receives a pitch ahead — especially off of turnovers or long rebounds, he’s just out. He’s a fast player. He’s got a nose for the rim in transition. Had a drive into half-court as well where he drew fouls. He’s converting at a high level at the foul line. He’s a guy like Justin Hill that, you know, plays starter minutes and produces like a starter. He’s a good player.”

*** Florida has five players averaging in double-figures, tied for most in the SEC alongside Kentucky. Walter Clayton Jr. leads the way for the Gators with 15.8 ppg while Tyrese Samuel (13.5 ppg) is the SEC’s most efficient shooter (60.6%). Samuel also ranks third on the league for rebounds (8.3 rpg). In between Clayton and Samuel in scoring is Zyon Pullin (14.6 ppg). Pullin sits second in the SEC for assists per game (4.6).