The Georgia Bulldogs are hoping a strong finish to the season can put them in consideration for postseason basketball. They will take a brief reprieve from conference play to host the Texas Longhorns in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Georgia has the better record but also plays in the weaker conference, so this should be an intriguing showdown. The home court advantage will likely be the reason why the Bulldogs will be pegged to win this game to boost their NCAA men’s basketball tournament hopes.
At 4 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia.
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Georgia is 12-7 straight up and 9-7 against the spread. The Bulldogs have played seven home games this season but have performed poorly, covering in only a pair of them. Georgia is 4-6 against the spread as the favorite compared to 5-1 against the spread as the underdog.
Texas is 8-12 straight up and 11-8 against the spread. The Longhorns have been fantastic on the road, covering in all five of those games thus far. Texas is 7-2 against the spread as the underdog on the year so that has to be considered if it gets points.
Key Stat
One. That’s how many points Texas defeated Oklahoma by on January 23rd to snap the team’s five-game losing streak. Andrew Jones hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1.8 seconds to go to give the Longhorns their first win since January 4th.
The victory was a welcomed one for Texas which, after starting the season at 3-0, has gone just 3-7 in the last ten games. The team will look to make it two in a row this week against Georgia.
Many of the the Longhorns’ recent losses have been tight, with Texas falling by two points to No. 10 West Virginia on January 14th and also losing by three points to TCU on January 11th. To finally sneak one out in a competitive contest will be a nice boost for the team heading into the final stretch of the season.
Player to Watch
Yante Maten – Georgia’s junior forward is averaging 19.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds. He had 19 points in the loss to Texas A&M on January 21st and put up 21 points in the win over Vanderbilt on January 17th.
Maten has scored 30 points or more on three occasions this season, finishing with a season-high 31 points against Auburn on December 29th and also scoring 30 against Kansas earlier this season. He also had 13 rebounds in Georgia’s loss to Kansas back in November.
Maten has five total double-doubles this season and his consistency has been key for this offense. Only once this season has the upperclassman not finished with 10 or more points in a game.
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Texas has the inferior record but nonetheless this should be a competitive showdown. Georgia has surprised some by remaining competitive in the conference and may be able to get into the March Madness conversation with some signature wins down the stretch.
The Bulldogs can’t lose many of these toss-up games the rest of the way. The home court advantage should help, but beware of the Longhorns in this one. They have been competitive against some elite competition and have not been manhandled very often.
Texas is an intriguing underdog in this one. However, Georgia has the better record and plays at home, which should be enough to give the Bulldogs a slight edge. Keep an eye on the spread, as the Longhorns could be a good choice to cover.
College Basketball Odds: Georgia 71, Texas 70
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