By: Matthew Weatherby
Georgia and Georgia Tech are set to renew their rivalry on the Basketball court just 2 weeks out from their showdown on the gridiron in Atlanta. Both teams are coming into the matchup undefeated, each carrying a 3-0 record. All six of those wins between the two are, however, against non-P4 competition. Friday night’s contest serves as a good litmus test for both teams in terms of where their expectations should be set as the season continues.
Georgia Tech’s Struggles
They come into Friday night’s matchup needing a statement. Year two under Damon Stoudamire has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. In their first game against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, they needed overtime in order to win that game by a final of 56-52. They then were able to handle the Bryant Bulldogs with ease, 74-45. But, in their most recent game against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, the Yellow Jackets once again found themselves in some trouble. Trailing the Lions at half, Georgia Tech needed a strong second half to beat the, with all due respect, lesser SE Louisiana squad.
Those results have left more questions than answers for a team that was hoping to take a step forward when they hired Celtics Assistant Damon Stoudamire after parting ways with longtime Head Coach Josh Pastner. Pastner is now in charge at UNLV.
But for the Jackets, Friday is an opportunity for Stoudamire and the Yellow Jackets to silence the doubters that they have created thus far in the season. But Mike White’s Georgia team is not the ideal place to get things going in the right direction.
What Georgia Does well
In short, a lot. Georgia basketball has pretty much excelled against the lesser opponents it has faced. Including that same Maryland Eastern Shore team that Georgia Tech needed overtime to beat. The Dawgs needed anything but as they stymied the Hawks 94-29.
The only hole that has shown for the Dawgs thus far is their three-point shooting. In their last game against Morehead State, they improved to roughly 46% from behind the arc. If Georgia can continue to shoot the ball in that manner, then it should have no problems with the Yellow Jackets. Mike White already has this team poised to make another run at the tournament after he was Georgia’s first coach to make it since Mark Fox did in 2015. If they shoot like that, then they can set their sights higher than that.
White seems to have hit on his portal additions with Jeremiah Wilkinson and Kanon Catchings. Wilkinson leads the team in scoring, and Catchings is fourth on the team in scoring. White needed to hit in the portal after losing Asa Newell to the draft, and Silas Demary Jr. is now leading Dan Hurley’s UCONN Huskies.
Betting and Analytics
Most of the markets have Georgia as a 13.5-point favorite over Georgia Tech. Some have Georgia at a 14-point favorite. The Yellow Jackets are somewhere around +850 to +900 on the moneyline, depending on the market. According to ESPN analytics, Georgia has a 90.1% chance to win over Georgia Tech’s 9.9% win expectancy.
