Show Me My Opponent, 2023-24: Georgia
attempting to answer the question of if the University of Georgia teaches a class on R.E.M. as they should
Tennessee, fresh off of a loss to a pretty good Mississippi State team, must travel to Georgia to play a Bulldogs team with three losses. People are very high on Georgia and Mike White, which, fine. They have the nation’s fourth-longest win streak right now at 10 in a row after a 2-3 start. Let’s take a look at those ten wins!
Oh. Also, they’ve enjoyed a nice 38.1% 3PT% on offense and a 28.4% 3PT% on defense during this time. I wonder if there might be a post about that at this very newsletter. Anyway, this is Georgia’s first top 5, top 10, or top 25 opponent of the season. That didn’t mean much when Mississippi State won Wednesday, but it is a fact worth keeping in mind. Another interesting fact is that they’re seventh in ShotQuality’s rankings of lucky teams. Tennessee may have played two other teams on this list.
Anyway! No más hater. Georgia currently sits above water in terms of Wins Above Bubble but hasn’t played a Quadrant 1 team yet and really needs a signature win. This is their opportunity to bring it home. Tennessee, meanwhile, needs this one to stay on track for their SEC title dreams. Since the advent of Tennessee basketball being good again (aka, 2005), Tennessee has loved playing confusingly bad basketball at Georgia’s arena over the years. This is not the time to do that, because for all of my hate, even I can admit Georgia’s competent enough to take advantage.
BEHIND THE WALL ($): Saturday morning hoop