Auburn basketball opponent preview: Georgia Bulldogs

Stop the presses: Auburn basketball is back here in 2023. Coming off of a last-minute non-spread covering win over Florida at home to open conference play, the Tigers will head to Athens for a date with the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia, in their first year of play under new head coach Mike White (formerly of the Florida Gators), has significantly improved.

Buoyed by a 10-3 non-conference record, the Dawgs are looking to start off right at home. This time last year, Georgia was 5-8 and would win just one more game all season. Doubling your non-conference win total is a good start.

Auburn basketball will have a tough test tonight, as Athens suddenly has a basketball team worth supporting. Even in the year of Anthony Edwards, their basketball team was a losing team. That is no longer the case.

Georgia on Offense

Georgia has one base action on offense that starts it all: high ball screen. Georgia will probably run more pick and roll than any team in the SEC from tip to final buzzer.

Once that has been exhausted, the Dawgs love to post the ball to one of several bigs who work to either finish at the rim or get fouled trying.

It will be key for the Tigers to defend soundly in the pick and roll. Guys like Wendell Green Jr. and Zep Jasper can’t get caught late on these screens.

Georgia on Defense

On defense, the Tigers are gonna see a lot of man. A LOT of man. Georgia will play man, even through screens, as they rarely switch through off-ball screens. When they do switch, it’s because the screen fully incapacitated the pursuing defender, and they have no choice but to jump out.

One weakness of this Georgia team is their transition defense. On turnovers, teams have gotten easy buckets. One thing that has been a signature of Bruce Pearl’s teams at Auburn have been an aggressive defense leading to fast break points.

Matchup to watch for Georgia vs. Auburn basketball

This one is a little more complex. I want to see how Auburn basketball defends the pick and roll when KD Johnson isn’t on the court. While Zep Jasper is a great defender in his own right, his lack of size can hold him back a little bit at the point of attack. Likewise, Wendell Green Jr. can also get caught behind because of his size.

On the low block, Georgia will do a lot of damage. Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell have a chance to really pad their defensive tape. If they can both stay out of foul trouble, the Tigers could be in good shape down the stretch.

Conclusion

We should be in for a treat Wednesday night. The Tigers have won close all year, and have traveled well even when the offense has struggled. With a win, the Tigers can come home for the biggest game of the month.

War Eagle!