SEC opposites: Georgia’s top defense to face accurate UA

Arkansas forward Arlando Cook (5) defends a Georgia ballhandler on Saturday, March 4, 2017, during the second half of the Razorbacks' 85-67 win in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas forward Arlando Cook (5) defends a Georgia ballhandler on Saturday, March 4, 2017, during the second half of the Razorbacks' 85-67 win in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The SEC's best-shooting team will try to break its road slump tonight against the league's top defensive unit when Arkansas faces Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum at 5:30 p.m. in Athens, Ga.

The Razorbacks (13-6, 3-4 SEC) hit 49.3 percent of their shots, with regulars Daniel Gafford (.625), Trey Thompson (.571), Adrio Bailey (.569), Jaylen Barford (.518) and Darious Hall (.515) all making more than half their shots. The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is also the second-highest scoring team in the SEC with 85.1 points per game.

Georgia (12-6, 3-4 SEC) lives on the other end of the spectrum. The Bulldogs are holding opponents to 38.2 percent shooting overall, 35.8 percent in SEC games, and also lead the SEC in scoring defense in conference games at 63.3 ppg.

"Georgia, I just think they have the game in a grind," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "They want it to be a half-court game.

"If we play a half-court game, you're going to see some of those similar results. We've got to try to impose our will on them, and that's got to be defensively and really attack these guys."

The Razorbacks are 0-4 in road games and only one of them has been close, a 78-75 loss at Mississippi State in which the Bulldogs shot 40 free throws to 12 by the Razorbacks. The other losses at Houston (91-65), at Auburn (88-77) and at Florida (88-73) have been by an average margin of 17.3 points.

Arkansas has fallen behind by 10 or more points in the first halves of all of those games.

"We can't spot people 15 points," Anderson said. "That's what we can't do. So we've got to come out swinging a little bit better than we have been on the road.

"Then when adversity comes, I think that's when we've got to pull together. I think one of the things I've seen is individuals try to do it. I just get the feeling that as this team continues to play and get more guys that are helping us, I can see us playing better on the road."

The Bulldogs are coming off a wild affair at Auburn in which they led by 16 points in the first half but succumbed to a 31-4 second-half onslaught in a 79-65 loss.

"The one thing about the league this year is there's so many good teams, and every game's going to be so hard, that having the ability to reload every time is going to be so important," Georgia Coach Mark Fox said. "I thought we've had a stretch of road games here where a couple of them have been extended by a day [due to travel] and so I thought that we were a little worn down. But that's no excuse for how we played."

Anderson did not announce his starting lineup, but he hinted that the freshman Hall, who went 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and had 11 points and 3 rebounds in a starting assignment in the Hogs' 97-93 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday, might be back with the first five.

"He's just going out there and having some success," Anderson said. "He's finally taking some of his practices to the game."

Georgia held its first six SEC opponents to 68 points or less, including Alabama's lackluster scoring in a 65-46 loss to the Bulldogs, before Auburn got going in the second half Saturday.

Four SEC opponents have shot less than 36 percent against Georgia, including 29.8 percent for Alabama and 27.1 percent for South Carolina. LSU has the best shooting game against the Bulldogs in league play, 43.4 percent in a 61-60 loss in Athens.

"They're long and athletic, and they do a good job of really packing the paint," Anderson said.

The game will pit perhaps the SEC's best big man in Georgia senior Yante Maten against one of its best young players, Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford.

Maten leads the SEC in scoring (19.6) and rebounding (9.1). The 6-8, 243-pounder is seventh among qualifiers with 47.3 percent shooting.

Gafford averages 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

"It's going to be a war," Anderson said of Gafford's head-to-head battle with Maten. "He's going against the best in our league, so we'll find a little more out about Daniel and our basketball team.

"This guy has been around a long time. He started as a freshman, so he's been that anchor for Georgia the last four years and he knows all the tricks of the trade."

The Bulldogs expect Arkansas to try to speed them up as Auburn did during its big comeback.

"Teams are going to trap and that means there's an open guy somewhere, so you just keep your poise in the trap and take care of the ball," Georgia guard Juwan Parker said.

"I felt like we handled the press at LSU far better than we did at Auburn," Fox said. "Certainly Arkansas is a team that historically has used a lot of pressure defense and shot the three. They've got another very good team."

Anderson said taking better shots is the key to reversing the Razorbacks' road misfortunes.

"The things you've got to do on the road is you've got to be able to shoot the basketball, you've got to be able to defend, you've got to rebound the basketball, you've got to get to the line as much as the opponents, and you've got to score from the free-throw line," Anderson said. "I think that's the key. You've got to hang around and give yourself a chance."

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Sports on 01/23/2018

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