Scouting Report: Georgia Bulldogs

It is officially time to move on from the excitement that Saturday’s win in Knoxville brought. Once the SEC schedule tips off the highs can never be too high and the lows can never be too low. That next game is always just around the corner. For the Kentucky Wildcats (11-6, 2-3), they welcome the Georgia Bulldogs (13-4, 3-1) to Rupp Arena on Tuesday night for a 9:00 p.m. tip on ESPN. This week is all about holding serve at home for the ‘Cats. Matching the effort and intensity they played with at Tennessee on Saturday will go a long way to making sure they take care of business.

Coach Mike White landed on his feet at Georgia after seven seasons as the boss of the Florida Gators. He has overachieved so far in Athens leading the Bulldogs to a 3-1 start in league play with their only loss coming to his former team down in Gainesville. The ‘Dawgs are coming off of two straight excellent defensive performances holding Mississippi State and Ole Miss to 50 and 58 points respectively last week. Coach White has a very athletic group that flys around forcing opponents into tough, contested shots. Kentucky must execute at a high level on Tuesday night to secure the victory over Georgia.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room putting together another scouting report for your pregame consumption. Here you will find a full personnel deep-dive, breakdowns of their offensive and defensive schemes, as well as the keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and learn more about the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia Bulldogs Personnel

Starters

#0 Terry Roberts: 6’3″ 180 lbs, Senior Guard

15.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.2 apg

Primary ball handler. Going to bounce it a lot. Very aggressive. Willing shooter. 24-76 from 3. Better attacking the basket off of the dribble than he is as a shooter. Plays off of a lot of ballscreens. It is okay to hop underneath as long as you are ready to contest if he shoots behind. If you go over the top we need to give ground and stay between him and the basket. Be willing to switch to stay in front. Very aggressive trying to attack off of the ballscreen. Need to stay between him and the basket. Error on the side of giving up contested jump shots. Contest all jump shots. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES. Don’t over help when he drives it left. Not as likely to finish going left. Make him score contested 2’s going left. No right hand drives! No layups for him.

#13 Mardrez McBride: 6’2″ 180 lbs, Fifth Year Guard

4.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg

Lefty. Looking for catch-and-shoot 3’s. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! 54 of 80 shots have been 3’s. Shooting the same percentage from 3 as he is from 2. Be tight enough to him to give a hard contest to all catch-and-shoot 3’s. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s he is looking to drive it left. No left hand drives! Will drive it left to score at the rim, but will look for the pull-up more going right. Contest all jump shots. You can help off of him but then closeout to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Would rather him drive it than get an uncontested look on the perimeter. No layups going left. No catch-and-shoot 3’s.

#3 Kario Oquendo: 6’4″ 220 lbs, Junior Guard

13.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.6 apg

Elite athlete. Very physical. Good shooter. 36.1% from 3. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Still more aggressive as a right hand driver than as a shooter. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot you can bounce back to guard the right hand drive. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES! You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. He isn’t really looking to shoot behind the ballscreens or handoffs. Very aggressive trying to turn the corner to his right hand of off the ballscreen. He is not thinking about passing when he drives it. 8 assists, 25 turnovers. Come take it off of him when he is driving right. Crashes the offensive glass from the perimeter. Box out! No catch-and-shoot 3’s. No layups or dunks driving it right.

#12 Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe: 6’8″ 215 lbs, Junior Forward

6.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.9 apg

Athletic 4-man. Non-shooter. Has not attempted a 3 this season. Closeout short to him on the perimeter to stay between him and the basket. Will put it on the floor and drive it right. No right hand drives! Should closeout under control enough that he can’t attack. Very good and active cutter off of the ball. When you are helping off of him you have to be aware of him cutting to the basket. Don’t get backcut on the perimeter. Shouldn’t be out there far enough to get backcut. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. Really likes to make the quick drop step to the baseline. No drop steps! Make him finish with you between him and the basket. Don’t let him turn the corner on you, especially to his left shoulder. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

#23 Braelen Bridges 6’11” 245 lbs, Fifth Year Center

7.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.8 apg

Lefty post. Back to the basket scorer. Looking to score on the block. Left hand, right shoulder in the post. Really trying to turn the corner, especially to his right shoulder, and score around you. No drop steps! Will utilize a lot of spin moves and shot fakes around the basket. Stay down on the fakes, be physical, and wall up. Make him score with you between him and the basket. If he faces up in the post he is either going to drive it left or go right to spin back left. Keep him going to his right hand. Not comfortable under pressure. You can pick your spots to aggressively come dig the ball out of the post and take it off of him. 13 assists, 33 turnovers. Good rim-runner in transition. Active on the offensive glass. Box out! No right shoulder baskets inside.

Bench

#11 Justin Hill: 6’0″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

7.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg

Backup point guard. Capable shooter. 35.3% on two attempts per game. Need to be there to give a hard contest to catch-and-shoot 3’s. More aggressive off of the bounce as a right hand driver. Looking to attack closeouts on the perimeter. No right hand drives! Really probes the defense off of ballscreens and when he attacks in transition. Likes to play off of ballscreens and get downhill going to his right. Loves to reject ballscreens. No rejects! You can start by going under the ballscreens and handoffs. Be ready to contest if he shoots behind, but those aren’t the 3’s he is hunting. Always coming back to his right hand to finish inside. Will spin back right and use a lot of shot fakes at the end of his drives to score with his right. Stay down on the fakes! No layups for him.

#1 Jabri Abdur-Rahim: 6’8″ 210 lbs, Junior Forward

6.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.2 apg

Bigger wing. Stretch 4-man. SHOOTER! NO 3’s! 58 of 77 shots have been 3’s. 37.9% from 3. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. He is their best shooter. Really looking to squeeze off catch-and-shoot 3’s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. No help off of him. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch if he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Will use the shot fake on the perimeter to drive it right. We are more worried about him shooting the catch-and-shoot 3 than driving it, so error on the side of taking away his attempts from the perimeter. Has only made 7 two-pointers on the season. Will crash the offensive glass. Box out. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#15 Jailyn Ingram: 6’7″ 225 lbs, Sixth Year Forward

4.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 apg

Face-up 4-man. Good shooter. 9-23 from 3 in 11 games. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. Need to be there to give a hard contest to the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s he will look to attack your closeout going right. Has only made 5 two-pointers on the season so not too worried about him driving it. Physical driver. Need to be physical and wall up to make him score over you around the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Give a hard contest to the catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#4 Jusaun Holt: 6’7″ 190 lbs, Sophomore Guard

3.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.7 apg

Thin, athletic wing. Willing shooter. 32 of 54 shots have been 3’s. 31.3% from 3. Shooting a much better percentage from 3 than 2. Get a hand up to contest the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Will drive it right. Low percentage finisher when he drives it. Only 5-22 from 2-point range this season. Just get your hands up and make him finisher over you on his way to the basket. You can pick your spots to pressure him some. Make him uncomfortable when he is bouncing it. Stay between him and the basket.

#5 Frank Anselem: 6’10” 215 lbs, Junior Center

3.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup 5-man. Exclusively looking to score at the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Will use a lot of spin moves and shot fakes to try and finish around you inside. Wall up and make him finish over you. Looking to duck you in hard and the front of the rim. Be physical and don’t let him bury you inside. Make him catch the ball off of the block. His percentages will go down significantly the further off of of the block you make him catch it. Take away the quick drop step to the baseline. Don’t let him turn the corner, especially to his left shoulder. Box out! Make him score with you between him and the basket.

Georgia Bulldogs Offense

The success that the Georgia Bulldogs have found this season has been more due to their defense than their offense. They are very turnover prone, struggle to finish around the basket, and rely heavily on their aggression getting them to the foul line. On the season, 22% of their points come from the charity stripe which is 24th most nationally. That is not really a sustainable model for offensive success. However, they do well in ballscreen actions and have been good in transition despite not running very often. In the half court you will be guarding a lot of high ballscreens, some 4-around-1 Motion offense, and set plays that are generally either isolations for #3 Oquendo on the perimeter or #23 Bridges in the post. Let’s step inside the film room and take a closer look at the Bulldogs offense.

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Per Synergy, the Georgia Bulldogs are rated “very good” at scoring off of the ballscreen. A big reason for that is the playmaking ability of #0 Roberts. He is very aggressive off of the bounce and will relentlessly work to get downhill going to his right hand. He is also a capable, and very willing, shooter so you can’t completely play off of him. This is what you can expect to see a lot of from Georgia. The possession begins with a simple high ballscreen and Roberts is attacking from there. You can’t recover to the roll man until #0 Roberts is successfully corralled. Either you wait until the guard is back in front of Roberts or you need to just switch it. Do not give up layups to him driving it right off of the ballscreen!

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Here is a look at a half court set that Coach White will dial up to get #0 Roberts into a ballscreen. The initial handoff and flare screen is really just to occupy the help defense as #23 Bridges sets the ballscreen for Roberts to coming barreling off going to his right hand. Again, when guarding the roll man, you have to make sure the ball gets stopped when #0 Roberts is driving it right. Do not recover until his man is back in front of him. Do not give up layups to him off of the ballscreen going to his right hand!

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For as good as #0 Roberts is at playing off of the ballscreen for the Georgia Bulldogs, and he certainly is their primary weapon, #3 Oquendo is actually been even better. The 6’4″ physical specimen is rated in the 96% percentile nationally, per Synergy, as a pick-and-roll ball handler scoring 1.158 points per possession. He is so athletic and physical that it is hard to stop him when he can get going downhill to the rim. As the guy guarding the roll man you HAVE to cut him off and stay in front until his primary defender can recover. If the recovery takes to long then just switch it.

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When Georgia runs half court sets they are often out of a Horns alignment. On this play #0 Roberts sets the up-screen for #12 Moncrieffe and then looks to come off of the handoff. When #5 Anselem can’t get the ball to Roberts he goes to his second read which is the high-low option. They will go to this even more when #23 Bridges is the one inside. Don’t let #12 Moncrieefe duck you in and get to his left shoulder to finish.

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Aside from the ballscreens that the Georgia Bulldogs run, they will also dial up some set plays to get the ball to #23 Bridges in the post. The tall left-hander has quick feet and is a good finisher with his back to the basket. That is especially true when he can turn the corner to his right shoulder and finish with his left hand. Here they set a simple cross screen to get him into space on the right hand side of the floor. He likes to play on this side so he can get to the middle with his left hand. Don’t let him turn the corner on you to his right shoulder!

Georgia Bulldogs Defense

The defensive end of the floor has been where the Georgia Bulldogs have made their money this season. They are primarily a man-to-man team that will ICE some ballscreens on the wing, mix in some 1-2-2 full court pressure after free throws and dead balls, and emphasize taking away the three-point line. On the season, Georgia is 8th in the country allowing opponents to shoot just 27.7% from beyond the arc. In their last two conference wins over Mississippi State and Ole Miss the ‘Dawgs have allowed just 50 and 58 points respectively. Kentucky will want to really look for opportunities to score in transition to beat this defense before they can get set in the half court.

Keys to the Game

• Dominate the glass. Georgia is a Top 25 offensive rebounding team in the country. We must end possessions with a defensive rebound like we did against Tennessee. 77% or better defensive rebounding percentage.
• No catch-and-shoot 3’s for #1 Abdur-Rahim, #3 Oquendo, or #13 McBride. Limit them to 4 or fewer combined 3’s. It will be hard for the Bulldogs to score enough if we can limit their 3’s.
• Contain #0 Roberts off of the ballscreen. Very aggressive offensive player. Have to stay between him and the basket. Contest everything. More shots than points for him.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.