Lady Vols basketball is playing back-to-back road games this week for the second time in the SEC schedule.
Tennessee (12-7, 5-2 SEC) faces Georgia (10-10, 1-6) at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network). The Lady Vols are coming of a road loss to Ole Miss and the Bulldogs have lost six straight games since winning their first SEC matchup against Texas A&M.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.
Georgia has lowest-scoring offense in SEC
Georgia’s 64.8 points per game ranks last in the SEC, and that number drops to 56.3 in SEC contests. The most the Bulldogs have scored against an SEC opponent is 69 points in a loss to Florida – they’ve only scored more than 60 points twice in conference play.
Senior forward Javyn Nicholson leads Georgia 15.2 points and nine rebounds per game. The Bulldogs lost their second-leading scorer Zoesha Smith, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Alabama. Georgia doesn’t score much from deep, only averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers in SEC play.
Tennessee’s defense took a step back against Ole Miss, allowing 80 points against a team that averaged 65.5 points in SEC play. But it would be concerning if it can’t hold Georgia to 60 or fewer.
Bulldogs are defensive-minded team, but struggling in SEC play
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s teams have defensive identities, and that won’t change. Last season, Abrahamson-Henderson’s first at Georgia, the Bulldogs gave everyone in the SEC trouble with their zone defense and press – even South Carolina.
While the identity hasn’t changed, the personnel has. Georgia lost key players from last year’s team that nearly upset Iowa in the NCAA second round, and its defense hasn’t had the same strength. The Bulldogs are giving up 71 points per game in SEC play – opponents are shooting 43.5% from the field – and three teams have scored 78 or more against them. They have been exploited on the perimeter, and SEC opponents are hitting 8.1 3-pointers per game.
Georgia is committing 17.1 turnovers per game in SEC play and only forcing 15. Tennessee has to clean up its turnovers, because this isn’t a game where it should lose the turnover battle.
Lady Vols need a confidence-boosting win
Tennessee took a step back in some ways in the loss to Ole Miss. It got outworked on the boards and gave up too many offensive rebounds. It got beat in transition and didn’t have the urgency defensively in the halfcourt. And despite cutting the lead to one point with a minute and a half left, the Lady Vols left with a loss.
BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE:Where Lady Vols basketball stands in updated NCAA tournament bracket predictions
Thursday is a chance to right the ship and get back on track with rebounding and defense. Tennessee needs a strong showing in both areas to bounce back and gain some confidence going into the second half of SEC play.
Every game matters for the Lady Vols, and they need to start stacking up wins before facing LSU and South Carolina.
Lady Vols basketball score prediction vs Georgia
Tennessee 78, Georgia 60: The Lady Vols shouldn’t have a problem beating the team at the bottom of the conference standings. Tennessee should be able to outrebound Georgia, dominate the paint and clean things up defensively to win comfortably in Athens.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.