by Paul Jordan
GAME 16- 1/9/2010
4:00 PM – RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY
GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-5)
KENTUCKY LEADS SERIES 110-24
RECENT MEETINGS:
3/4/2009: GEORGIA 90 KENTUCKY 85
1/18/2009: KENTUCKY 68 GEORGIA 45
3/15/2008: GEORGIA 60 KENTUCKY 56 (SEC Tourney)
2/19/2008: KENTUCKY 61 GEORGIA 55
2/2/2008: KENTUCKY 63 GEORGIA 58
One thing is for certain. Kentucky will certainly not overlook the Bulldogs heading into the SEC opener for both teams. Georgia made certain of that with a 73-66 win over #17 Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. I compare the Bulldogs to the same type of opponent as Rider. Rider stunned the world earlier by beating Mississippi State and UK took notice of this and respected them as a real threat and then dispatched them summarily.
The Bulldogs have been the bane of the Wildcat’s existence the last couple of seasons. One only need to look back to the March debacle at Rupp when the 2-12 SEC Bulldogs swaggered into Rupp and sealed Billy G’s fate with one of the most frustrating UK losses last decade. Or the SEC Tourney in 2008 when the 14-16 Bulldogs dumped the shellshocked 60-56. Like it or not, UK has struggled with the Bulldogs the last couple of seasons and now the Bulldogs appear to have a keeper at head coach in Mark Fox. Can the Bulldogs shock the Cats for a third straight year?
STARTING LINEUPS:
G – TRAVIS LESLIE, SO 6’4, 202 — 12.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg
G – DUSTIN WARE, SO 5’11, 182 — 8.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.9 apg
G – RICKY McPHEE, SR 6’1 184 — 9.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
F – TREY THOMPKINS, SO 6’9, 247 — 16.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.4 apg
F – ALBERT JACKSON, SR 6’11 265 — 3.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.2 apg
Travis Leslie has blossomed into a bona-fide SEC guard in his sophomore season and he has very good quickness and does a good job of creating his own shot. He is also a pretty efficient at putting back missed shots as almost half of his rebounds are on the offensive board. Leslie does not have much of an outside game however, and is prone to turning the ball over. His ball handling the last five games has been pretty bad with 7 assists total against 17 turnovers. Dustin Ware is inconsistent as a scorer. He has five games in double digits and five games under five points scored. He is not especially good from the field at 34.6% and is an occasional 3-point threat at 32.6%. He is a decent ball handler and pretty tough defensively, but his size will be a liability in this game. Ricky McPhee can be deadly from beyond the 3-point arc as he has three games this season with 4 treys and is shooting a very solid 41.3% from 3-point land. He is a pretty good shots from wherever he is with a 47.7 FG %. McPhee is also prone to rack up a few steals and has 22 on the season. These three make up most of the guard play for the Bulldogs. Freshmen Ebuka Anayaorah and Vincent Williams both play about 10 minutes a game, but offer very little statistically with 2.6 and 1.0 points a game.
Trey Thompkins is the rising star for the Bulldogs and he is a force to be reckoned with under the basket. He has four double doubles on the season and a 35 point effort against FAU. He shoots well for a big man and even has 40 3-pointers in his season and a half. He seems to draw a lot of fouls and gets to the line a good bit where he is a 75% shooter. Albert Jackson (from Earlington, KY) does start but only plays about half the game. He is a scrapper for rebounding and is not afraid to mix it up but scoring has never been his forte at Georgia and whatever scoring he does is around the basket. Junior Jeremy Price shares the minutes with Jackson and is more of a scorer, averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 boards for his 18 minutes a game. He shoots well, at 54.4% but at 6’8, is a bit undersized. Chris Barnes is another 6’8 forward that is averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 boards in just 15 minutes a game.
OUTLOOK
Yes, I know that Georgia did just knock off 17th ranked Georgia Tech the other night. And that Leslie, Thompkins, and McPhee can give UK troubles. And yes, I know that Georgia Tech is led by a few very talented freshmen that wilted under the pressure of a rivalry game in Athens. Any similarities between Georgia facing UK and Georgia facing Georgia Tech should end there.
Georgia’s lack of depth at the guard position can be a major factor on Saturday. Same goes for the Jackson/Price vs Cousins matchup. Plus UK has the bench. And although Fox has done a fine job, he he can’t devise a gameplan to keep his young charges in the game.
Besides the Bulldogs, the Wildcats are battling history. The fact that the Bulldogs have won in Lexington three times since 2002 will not be lost on the team In contrast, Georgia won in Lexington just twice from 1923-2001. Look for the Wildcats to restore the roar and send a notice out to the SEC with a 85-61 win over Georgia.
Stay tuned to the Wildcat Blue Blog. Paul will have a story in a bit on a new face that is rapidly moving up the rankings in the 2011 class and he seems to like UK …. A LOT
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