By: Tyler Adkins
Coming off of the difficult loss down in Fayetteville, the Cats return south to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (14-15, 8-8 SEC). This is a game the Cats absolutely have to win on the road as they need a bounce back game after a dismal performance last weekend. Georgia is not very good, but the Cats must play much better than they did last game. With that, let’s get to the things to watch for:
*Pride
This team plays with no pride or swagger 90% of the time for some reason. They showed pride during the Missouri game and it showed on the scoreboard, they weren’t scared of Missouri and weren’t going to lose that game, period. Then a game like Arkansas happens where the Hogs came out and punched them in the mouth early and the Cats wilted and shied away from the physical play and contact the rest of the game. The latter has happened too much this season as no one on the team really seems to want to jump in the mix (unless it is Goodwin who only gets physical after the whistle blows). I want this team to show up and show some pride and fight that they had against Missouri. Bottom line is this, lose this game and NCAA Tournament at large bid is gone.
*Poythress Style
Alex Poythress looked like he had finally turned the corner when he had two straight double figure games and generally looked like he was playing some serious basketball. He was physical, aggressive, stayed on the court by not fouling, looked for his shots and made most of them. Then he reverted in Arkansas and took only 3 shots and fouled out in only 17 minutes of action. Poythress has to be able to stay out of foul trouble because as thin as this team is, he cannot consistently being sitting on the bench due to fouls. I want Poythress to have less than 3 fouls, I don’t care how many points or shots, just stay on the court without fouling.
*Value the ball
The Cats had 18 turnovers against Arkansas; which is astronomically high for a team late in the season. Everyone seemed to have butterfingers during the game and they were clearly rattled by the tough, physical defense Arkansas played. This team has to be able to take care of the ball and get good shots because they are not good enough to turn it over 18 times and win. I am looking for the team to have less than 12 turnovers tonight.
That is all for today. I will be back for the grades later tonight. Go big blue.
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