Athens, GA — In their third consecutive home game in two weeks, the Georgia Bulldogs are set to battle the High Point Panthers at 5:30 tonight. The Dawgs, favored by 9.5 points, are looking to expand on a four-game winning streak and are 6-3 on the season. The 8-3 Panthers are also on a win streak winning their five previous games.
UGA is coming off an 11-day rest period and a dominant 76-62 win against rival Georgia Tech. High Point will be the fourth to last non-Power 5 opponents the Dawgs face before they start conference play in January. Meanwhile, UGA is the only Power 5 opponent the Panthers will face this entire season.
Offensively for the Dawgs, senior Jabri Abdur-Rahim still leads for points this season averaging 13.0 a game, and grad student Noah Thomasson had a game against Georgia Tech with 16 points. Freshman Blue Cain also worked offensively for the Dawgs in the Georgia Tech game, especially from the arch shooting 57% on 7 attempts. Expect Abdur-Rahim to still have success in the High Point game but also look to Thomasson and Cain the rack up points for the Dawgs.
The Panthers average significantly more points per game than the Dawgs (89.1 points to the Dawgs 72.1). This is due largely to the efforts of junior guard Duke Miles and sophomore forward Kimani Hamilton, Miles averages 19.5 points a game, while Hamilton averages 14.6. Despite the average 17-point differential, UGA has faced significantly stiffer competition than the Panthers and has only allowed an average of 69.9 points per game.
Miles also leads for High Point in assists and steals averaging 4.4 and 1.3 per game in each respective category. His presence seems to be very important to the Panthers and the Dawgs must do their best to contain him. Additionally, Hamilton is of great assistance to High Point defensively as he leads the team in rebounds averaging 8 per game.
Russel Tchewa still leads the Dawgs defensively with 6.5 rebounds per game and continued this performance in the Tech game with 9 rebounds. Tchewa’s defensive skills will no doubt be a factor in the game against High Point.
With UGA being their only Power 5 opponent this season, a win tonight would be significant for the Panthers and would provide good confidence for the rest of the season. As for the Dawgs, a win against the offensively powered High Point team would be good in helping them get through the middle game of their five-home game streak as well as continue their undefeated record at home this year.
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