Mike White Emphasizing Transition Defense Ahead of Kentucky Game

Georgia head coach Mike White is preparing for a monumental matchup Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. No, Mike White is no longer the Florida head basketball coach. People forget that. Just like they may not know that this Georgia team is 13-4, 3-1 to start SEC play. They have some nice wins, but this could be their biggest win of White’s debut season in Athens.

“We’ve won some close ones. Winning at Kentucky is a whole different deal,” he said Monday afternoon. “They’re coming off arguably the best win of the season in college basketball this year at Tennessee, who has a chance to win the whole thing.”

Kentucky won at Tennessee with defense, holding the Vols to only 56 points in the upset in Knoxville. Scoring is not exactly a strength for the Dawgs. They rank No. 124 in offensive efficiency and 10th in the SEC in scoring at 70.5 points per game. Points will be served at a premium at Rupp Arena.

“They’re coming off one of the better defensive performances of the season throughout college basketball to defend the way they did on the road at Tennessee,” White said. “Every point is going to be very difficult to come by and we’ve got to figure out a way to manufacture some baskets and get to the foul line and convert.”

Georgia Focused on Slowing Kentucky in Transition

The Wildcats have not exactly been world beaters on offense either. They’re ranked in the top 25 in offensive efficiency because of their ability to create second chance points off offensive rebounds. Kentucky also has more than one guy that can run the floor and score easy buckets in transition.

“Specifically they’re really good in transition offense, I think Oscar (Tshiebwe)’s one of the best rim-running bigs that again we’ve evaluated and scouted against in a long time,” White said. “And Sahvir Wheeler, his speed downhill in space, film doesn’t do it justice. I’ve seen it live and I’ve tried to explain that to some of our guys that haven’t competed against him.”

“But also they’ve also got wings that they can pitch ahead to that are skilled and can make plays in space, and they’ve got shooters. So transition offense for them, our transition defense, is very very important, leveling them and being able to set our man-to-man,” White said.

Georgia ranks in the top 50 in scoring and shooting defense. We’ll find out how well Mike White prepared his Georgia team for the Wildcats tonight at 9 pm EST on ESPN.