Georgia Hosts Alabama in Pursuit of First SEC Win

The Alabama-Georgia rivalry is often considered a powerhouse matchup — at least in football.

In basketball, however, both teams face opposing realities.

The Georgia Bulldogs (5-14, 0-6) will look to earn their first SEC win of the season when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-6, 4-3) tonight at 6:30 p.m at the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.

The Bulldogs are on an eight-game losing streak and are winless through six SEC matchups.

They have dropped games against Texas A&M, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Auburn and South Carolina. Their most recent win was over a month ago when they defeated Western Carolina, 85-79, on Dec. 20. The Bulldogs sit at the bottom of the SEC standings and are struggling in most statistical categories: The Bulldogs are 11th in points (69.9), 13th in rebounds (34.6) and 14th in steals per game (4.84).

Game Day at the Steg.

🆚 : Alabama
⏰ : 6:30pm
📺 : @SECNetwork
🎟 : https://t.co/Je4EF26dUW pic.twitter.com/pyecjNXt6I

— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) January 25, 2022

On the other hand, Alabama is coming off back-to-back home wins over LSU and Missouri. The Crimson Tide started conference play with two strong wins against Tennessee and Florida before dropping three straight against Missouri, Auburn and Mississippi State. However, all of those losses were decided by six points or fewer. In addition, they are ranked second in PPG (81.4) and RPG (40.4) in the SEC.

The Crimson Tide’s offense is led by guards Jaden Shackelford (16.9 PPG), Jahvon Quinerly (14.8) and Keon Ellis (12). The latter also leads the team in rebounds (6.2) and steals per game (2). Georgia will rely on strong performances from guards Kario Oquendo (12.6 PPG) and Braelen Bridges (12.5 PPG) if they want to challenge Alabama’s winning streak. One thing that will favor the Bulldogs tonight is the home crowd. In 12 home games this season, the Bulldogs average 6624 spectators.

Alabama has won the last four games and has a 97-51 lead in the all-time series.

The game will tip-off at 6:30 and will broadcast on the SEC Network.

We've got Georgia on our mind 😤

🆚Georgia
🕠5:30 p.m. CT
📍Athens, Ga.
🏟️Stegeman Coliseum
📺https://t.co/e5pLE9S1vy
📻https://t.co/V9H597ck9k
📈https://t.co/49utATSCn3#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball | #SuitsAndSneakers pic.twitter.com/bEp0uio6XL

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 25, 2022