Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina basketball's next opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs

South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris and his team completed their annual owning of John Calipari on Saturday (a 72-53 beatdown over Arkansas that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated) to get back in the win column.

The victory moved USC to 12-17 overall and 2-14 in conference contests. The Gamecocks will look to start a winning streak this week. Their next test will come at home against the Georgia Bulldogs. Tuesday’s contest will be the second meeting between the teams this season.

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Resume Check: Georgia Bulldogs

Record: 18-11 (6-10 in SEC)
AP Ranking: N/A
Last Week: Win over Florida 88-83 in Athens, Win over Texas 83-67 in Austin
Previous Meeting: Georgia won 71-60 in Athens earlier this season in January

There might not be a more up-and-down team in the SEC this season than the Georgia Bulldogs. Mike White’s squad has wins over St. John’s, Notre Dame, Grand Canyon, Kentucky, and Florida this season. However, they have had two separate four-game losing streaks in conference play and lost to the very same Arkansas team South Carolina destroyed this past weekend.

The ‘Dawgs peaked inside the top 25 earlier this season but have dipped back to the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation since then. A two-win week last week has helped their cause, but the Gamecocks would love to spoil their rival’s postseason hopes.

Heading into this week’s rematch with South Carolina, Georgia ranks as a below-average team in the SEC on offense. UGA is 12th in the league in scoring average at 75.6 points per game. However, from an efficiency standpoint, the Bulldogs are a little better (8th in the conference) in team field goal percentage as they make 46.4% of their shots from the field. Where they struggle is distributing the basketball. Georgia is 14th in the conference in assists, and only two players on the entire team average at least two dimes per game.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are a little better. Ranked third in the league in blocks, Georgia also holds its opponents to under 41% shooting. Only five teams in the SEC can make that claim. They are one of just four teams to keep opponents under 30% from outside, as well. In all, the red and black-clad defense is strong. The team’s biggest weakness on that end of the floor, though, comes with their struggle to force turnovers. The ‘Dawgs rank in the middle of the SEC pack in turnovers forced and steals per game, but most of their success taking away the basketball came in non-conference play. They’ve only stolen the ball ten times or more once since the calendar moved to 2025. Only South Carolina has done so fewer times.

Just two Bulldogs average scoring in double figures. Freshman star Asa Newell (15.2) and big sophomore point guard Silas Demary (12.9) lead the way. Newell also leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game. The duo does a lot of damage from the free throw line where they each have taken over 100 attempts. Georgia is fifth in the SEC in total foul shot attempts.

Demary, backcourt mate Blue Cain, and bench gunner Dakota Leffew all take a lot of 3-point jumpers. None of them have been overly efficient, but they all can make shots if left open. During the 2024-2025 season, the trio has combined to make about 35% of their nearly 400 perimeter shots.

The Bulldogs have been fairly healthy all season, and that appears to be the case right now, too. Coach White didn’t put any players on the SEC-mandated availability report ahead of his team’s most recent game against Texas.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs will take the floor at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network and stream on the ESPN app.

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