And the Bulldogs went from a team that could not pressure ballhandlers to one that is among the nation\u2019s best in forcing steals. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThey\u2019re forcing more picks, guarding the line better, and getting after misses better. The 15-6 (No. 37) ranking isn\u2019t a fluke, nor were the wins over St. Johns (15) and Kentucky. In fact, five of their six losses are all inside the KP Top 25. Only a road loss to Arkansas (No. 58) is \u201cbad\u201d \u2014 but that\u2019s a Cal-talent team playing at home, and playing a similar defensive style of ball. More of a tossup than anything. <\/p>\n
What is it that UGA does differently than other teams we\u2019ve seen? Mike White is, for all intents and purposes, a Rick Majerus clone. Both of his systems are ripped straight from the pages of those old Ute playbooks. <\/p>\n
So, defensively they play a hybrid man system a l<\/em>a Texas A&M. But, aside from Auburn or Ole Miss, this team may close out better than anyone else in the conference. It\u2019s very hard to get breathing space against UGA, simply because they anticipate the pass so well, and then they swarm <\/em>the shooter, bringing two- and sometimes three-men fronts to force bad shots and even worse decisions with the basketball. You have to be patient and find your spot with them, make the extra pass, and use the whole <\/em>court to find good looks. Not a single starter is under 6\u20195\u201d, so the guards are as long and tall as you will see. Holloway and Sears aren\u2019t going over the top of these guys often. And certainly not with the way Georgia outnumbers shooters. <\/p>\nOffensively, the Bulldogs run a 4-1 Motion Offense. We covered that earlier this week, so I\u2019m not reprising it in great detail. Just know that the center rotates around the lane, with four players setting up the play at the perimeter. The goal is to create traffic off screens and find easy buckets in the paint. <\/p>\n
Because so much of Georgia\u2019s motion takes place within the first few feet of the three-point line, White\u2019s iteration of the 41 has been called a \u201czone offense.\u201d You\u2019re not going to see a lot of movement below the free throw line. And, in Georgia\u2019s case, that motion isn\u2019t to free up perimeter shooters: you will see very few possessions where the ball does not at least make an entry to the post. <\/p>\n
This team leads from the blocks. It\u2019s brutally efficient.<\/p>\n
When I use the phrase \u201cbrutal efficiency\u201d I mean that in somewhat positive regard. Like their namesakes at the football program, it\u2019s about putting a body-on-body, and winning the physical battles. It is fair to describe Georgia, like the football program, as predictable and boring. You know what\u2019s coming \u2014 you just have to be able to stop it. Teams are having a hard time doing so. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s your link: <\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\nHowever, rather than the Jay Wright model, Mike White\u2019s adoption is patterned much more off of Rick Majerus\u2019 old Utah teams. Theirs is a system that relies heavily on ball screens, and especially staggers \u2014 where the motion-man sprints to a space on the floor to receive a pass. It makes it much harder to defend, since UGA can pre-set screens and take away a space, rather than popping into a space to cut off a defender (there\u2019s that \u201czone offense\u201d concept). It has even more motion than Jans\u2019 offense does, and it operates with a lot more isolation off the screens than does MSU. But many of the looks and philosophy are going to be fresh on everyone\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n
That said, Alabama could <\/em>be well positioned to face the \u2018Dawgs. Could<\/em>. The Tide\u2019s poor pick and roll defense, and their struggles against elite big men all year, is going to have <\/em>to improve. Teams have had success on the PnR all year against \u2018Bama, and if Georgia smells blood in the water, they\u2019ll run PnR on every trip down the floor. Mike White won\u2019t get cute like Jans did: he\u2019ll take what the Tide\u2019s generous interior defense surrenders. <\/p>\nKey Personnel <\/strong><\/p>\nFam, I\u2019m not going to lie: UGA\u2019s dominant freshman C\/PF Asa Newell<\/strong> is about to feed. <\/p>\nThe Tide has issues stopping good big men \u2014 all the way from Milicilic to Oscar Cuff to Kalkenbrenner and everyone in between. He\u2019s one of the nation\u2019s best offensive rebounders, and is third in the SEC clocking a ridiculous 1.3 points per shooting possession (only Johni Broome and Murray-Boyles have been better \u2014 lest I remind you, CMB went off in \u2018Bama\u2019s rout of USC). For good measure, he\u2019s also a better perimeter shooter than Jarin, and he will <\/em>let them rip from beyond the arc too. You have to guard him the whole possession.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s not a matter of stopping Newell, not with anyone on this roster. \u2018Bama\u2019s best hope is to platoon Mo and Cliff on defense, collapse with some backside help to force a turnover or pass. And then you beat the shit out of him every possession and dare the SEC officiating crew to call a foul every time \u2014 Ole Miss, Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi State get away with it. Why not give it a shot? He fouls a bunch, and because the offense runs through him, you can keep his aggression at bay by getting some quick early whistles against him. <\/p>\n
Short of that, or attacking the basket all night to get him in concomitant foil trouble, I think the \u2018Bama frontcourt is in for a long, long <\/em>game.<\/p>\nBut the Dawgs also have elite depth at the Bigs. C\/PF RJ Godfrey (6\u201910\u201d) and Somto Cyril (7\u2019) are massive bodies that see quality minutes and contribute to the Bulldogs improved rebounding (they are 2nd and 3rd on the team in that category; Newell is first, obviously). Their offensive contribution is limited, but they afford UGA a lot of second chances and help limit teams to one-and-done possessions.<\/p>\n
That said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Sure, Georgia is going to have a great night in the paint. But Alabama has seen this playbook before: the South Carolina Gamecocks. And, I would expect the Tide to follow that script. You take away the guards and force a defense-first, post-first team with an elite big to beat you only <\/em>with big men.<\/p>\nTo that end, \u2018Bama needs to neutralize the Georgia backcourt, and its pair of fairly mediocre guys. The best of the bunch is PG Silas Demary,<\/strong> who leads the team in assists and steals. He\u2019s also the best perimeter shooter (38%). Still, he\u2019s not a matchup terror like Josh Hubbard. Think of him as Great Value Zakaria Ziegler:<\/strong> a decent-shooting, solid defender who turns it over a bunch<\/em>. He\u2019s a 1:1 player back there, so getting on-ball pressure will be key. Don\u2019t let him have easy entries to Newell. SG Dakota Leffew isn\u2019t going to set the world on fire, but he is the second-best perimeter shooter on a team with limited scoring options. <\/p>\nThe key to a \u2018Bama loss would be letting Newell go off, getting outhusted by the other bigs, and then still letting UGA\u2019s guards get going. They can\u2019t take the night off back there.<\/p>\n
How To Watch<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s a weird one: Sat 1 Feb, 3 CST, ESPN 2<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/strong><\/p>\nI think Newell is going to utterly destroy the Tide big men. They\u2019re just not built for this. He\u2019s one of the nation\u2019s best freshmen, and certainly at a spot where elite freshmen are hard to find. But, it\u2019s nothing new for the Tide. They can play this sort of game, where they are tasked with minimizing the effort of average backcourts, while still letting stars in the post go nuts. <\/p>\n
But Alabama is going to have to work for it at the same time. UGA is prone to overextending on defense, and you can still find perimeter shots. They foul a ton, so Alabama will get plenty of opportunities there \u2014 assuming they can hit them. And it\u2019s also a team that just doesn\u2019t shoot very well beyond one guard and Newell. <\/p>\n
Can Alabama win a defensive game where it allows two players to have a great night? They\u2019ve done it repeatedly all year. But what they cannot <\/em>do is throw this game away to a very opportunistic team that plays a very deliberate, physical style of basketball. For the love of God, hang on to the ball and make your free throws.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s going to be an ugly game. Georgia doesn\u2019t apologize for that. Unfortunately, ugly team basketball has been the bane of Bama\u2019s existence. The Tide are going to have to prove that \u201cblue collar basketball\u201d is more than just a motto in order to secure the win in Coleman. And be very glad that it is <\/em>in Coleman; barring some unconscious shooting, it\u2019s apt to be a war as-is.<\/p>\nAlabama 83<\/strong>Georgia 74<\/strong><\/p>\nHope for the best.
Here\u2019s your game thread. Sound off below <\/strong><\/p>\n