Georgia looking to build off win over Kentucky against LSU
Georgia looking to build off win over Kentucky against LSU
ATHENS — Georgia men’s basketball (15-10, 5-7 SEC) got a signature win this past Saturday, gutting out a 76-68 victory over Kentucky in front of a sold-out crowd at home.
The Bulldogs return to Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday to face LSU (12-13, 1-11). The Tigers are dead last in the SEC standings and are coming off an 84-72 loss to Texas A&M. They will look to knock off the Bulldogs, who are trying to build off their last win.
After facing some adversity in his first season at the helm, Georgia head coach Mike White is finally starting to see the pieces of the puzzle come together on a consistent basis.
“Early on, we responded to adversity very poorly. We took some jumps forward, and at times we’ve taken a couple of steps back and a couple forward,” White said on Saturday. “It’s all part of the process, of course, and tonight was another couple of steps forward in that category. We had some maturity and some connection, and it didn’t seem, overall, that we got as rattled as we’ve been and as defeated with our body language.”
The Bulldogs will look to defend their home floor on Tuesday. They are 12-2 on the season at Stegeman Coliseum, with a pair of bad conference losses to Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
Braelen Bridges has been playing lights out for Georgia for the past two games. He had a double-double against the Rebels last week with 27 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Bridges also notched 12 points and grabbed six boards against Kentucky. So, the Bulldogs will be heavily reliant on their big man to lead heading into the next matchup.
White acknowledged how important Bridges was to the success of the team on Saturday.
“The biggest factor of the game was Braelen Bridges. He played as hard as he’s played all year,” White said after the win over Kentucky. “He was very good. I’m really proud of him, and his teammates were appreciative. He’s had bigger scoring and rebounding numbers, but when you look down and see he was plus-22 today, he made a lot of winning plays.”
Georgia also benefitted against the Wildcats by getting leading scorer Terry Roberts back after missing the two previous games with a concussion. Although he didn’t lead in scoring, Roberts’ impact was felt on the court as he helped the Bulldogs power past Kentucky.
The Bradley transfer scored nine points in the win. He also grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded a steal off the bench in 23 minutes this past Saturday.
Georgia guard Kario Oquendo was happy to have Roberts return.
“It was very impactful from a leader standpoint or just a standpoint from where you have another guy out there who can play point guard,” Oquendo said after the game on Saturday. “Without Terry, we really don’t have another true point guard other than me and Justin Hill. It’s good to have another guy that can handle the ball and be out there.”
The Bulldogs and Tigers will tip off at 8:30 p.m. tonight at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.