Tennessee Volunteers @ Georgia Bulldogs: Game Preview

Feb 19, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Skylar McBee (13) looks to pass the ball around LSU Tigers guard Andre Stringer (10) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 82 to 72. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers are making a run at an NCAA tournament bid, while playing their best basketball of the season. Tennessee has also found themselves in a position to potentially earn a double-bye in the SEC tournament. The Vols are currently in sixth place in the SEC, tied with Missouri, and only a game behind Ole Miss for fourth. The top four teams earn a double-bye.

The Vols are the hottest team in the SEC right now, riding a six game winning streak. On Saturday, Tennessee will head to Athens,GA to take on the last team to beat the Vols, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia beat Tennessee 68-62 on February 6th.  The Vols were playing without guard Trae Golden. Since that loss, Golden has returned to the lineup and head coach Cuonzo Martin has utilized a smaller lineup that has payed major dividends for the Volunteers.

The Bulldogs, in contrast to the Vols, have lost four of six since the win over Tennessee. Georgia is most recently coming off a 63-62 loss to Vanderbilt.

Tennessee will match up much better with Georgia this time around. Georgia (13-15, 7-8 SEC)  is one of the lowest scoring teams in the nation (326th overall). Tennessee is much improved in the scoring area, averaging 75 points a game during their winning streak. Even with the smaller lineup Tennessee has been winning the rebounding margin lately.  The Vols are ranked 85th in the nation in rebounding, with just under 37 rebounds a game. Georgia is 178th in the nation in rebounding.

For once this season it’s accurate to say that a faster pace and higher scoring game will favor the Vols.

Tennessee is led in scoring by Jordan McRae (15.3) and Jarnell Stokes (12.6), Stokes also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.2 boards a game.

Georgia is led in scoring by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, with 17.7 points a game. He’s the only player on Georgia’s roster averaging double figures in scoring.

It’ll be very important for the Vols not to look past Georgia in this key late season road game. Tennessee is coming off a big win over Florida on Tuesday and it would be very easy to get caught up in the win and suffer from the “hangover effect”. Cuonzo Martin did a great job of preparing the team for LSU after Tennessee’s big win over Kentucky, and I’d expect he’ll have the Vols ready to face Georgia as well.

Tennessee and Georgia tip off at 1:45 pm est on Saturday.  The game will be broadcast on the SEC network, live from Stegeman coliseum in Athens.