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Georgia Looking to Rebound Back at Home Against LSU

Originally posted on FanNation Dawgs Daily
By Tatum Esparza | Last updated 1/24/24

Athens, GA – At 6:30 PM EST tonight, the Georgia Bulldogs return home to play the LSU Tigers, where the Dawgs are favored by 3.5 points. After their first road loss of the season to No. 8 Kentucky last Saturday, the Dawgs have dropped to 13-5 and 3-2 in the conference. Both conference losses have been to ranked teams, Kentucky and No. 5 Tennessee. The Tigers are also 3-2 in the SEC and currently 11-7 overall after a loss over Texas A&M.

Despite the loss, UGA’s Kentucky game showed the team's perseverance, as Georgia was once down by 28 points and only lost by 9 when the clock struck zero. Senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim put up a career-high of 34 points, the most of any Bulldog since Anthony Edwards had 35 in 2020 against South Carolina. With his performance on Saturday, Abdur-Rahim continued to be Georgia's leading scorer for the season and increased his points per game (ppg) average by a whole point, going from an average of 12.9 ppg to 13.9 ppg.

Freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. also had a career-high 22 points against Kentucky. Demary Jr. has been a consistent starter for the Dawgs and is one point away from averaging double-digit points per game. He, as well as junior guard RJ Melendez, are currently at 9.9 ppg. Between Demary Jr. and Melendez statistically, you can find graduate student guard Noah Thomasson averaging 12.1 ppg with a 42.4% shooting percentage from field goal range. Senior guard Justin Hill is not only averaging 9.4 ppg but is also the Dawgs’ best distributor, with an average of 3.5 assists per game.

Defensively for the Dawgs, graduate center Russel Tchewa leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.4 per game. Demary Jr. and Melendez are behind Tchewa, each averaging 4.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Demary Jr. leads UGA in steals with 1.6 per game.

For the Tigers, Jordan Wright seems to be the go-to guy. Wright leads the team in almost every statistic offensively: points per game (15.8), assists (2.2) and defensively: rebounds (5.6) and steals (2.2). Wright also averages the most minutes of any other Tiger, with 31.0 minutes. Junior guard Jalen Cook is second behind Wright in points, averaging 14.9 ppg, and senior forward Will Baker, the last of the Tigers to put up double digits, follows Cook with 11.4 ppg. Baker can also be found right after Wright in rebounds, averaging 5.2 rebounds per game.

The team statistics for both LSU and UGA are relatively close to each other. LSU is averaging 76.6 ppg and 70.3 points allowed, while UGA is averaging 76.7 ppg and 71.9 points allowed. The Dawgs slightly have the upper hand in rebounds, with an average of 37.6 per game compared to the Tigers’ average of 36.8.

Both teams are looking to rebound after losses this weekend in order to get their season back on track. The Dawgs get to return home, where they are 10-1 after going 1-1 on the road. A win would improve upon the record and also provide them with good momentum for when they go back on the road to play Florida this Saturday and when they play LSU later this season in February.